JOURNAL 


OF  THE 


Academy  of  Natural  Sciences 


OF 


PHILADELPHIA 


SECOND  SERIES,  VOLUME  XIV. 


PART  3. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

THE  ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES. 


191 1. 


PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE. 


Henry  Skinner,  M.  D.  Witmer  Stone. 

Henry  A.  Pilsbry,  Sc.  D.  William  J.  Fox. 

Edward  J.  Nolan,  M.  D. 

The  President,  Samuel  G.  Dixon,  M.  D.,  LL.  D.,  ex-officio. 

Editor,  Edward  J.  Nolan,  M.  D. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/someaboriginalsiOOmoor 


WRITINGS  ON  ARCHAEOLOGY. 


By  Clarence  B.  Moore. 

Certain  Shell  Heaps  of  the  St.  Johns  River,  Florida,  hitherto  unexplored.  The  American 
Naturalist,  Nov.,  1892,  to  Jany.,  1894,  inclusive.  Five  papers  with  illustrations  in  text, 
and  maps. 

Certain  Sand  Mounds  of  the  St.  Johns  River,  Florida,  Parts  I and  II.  Journal  of  the  Acad- 
emy of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  Philadelphia,  1894.  Yol.  X.  Quarto,  130  and 
123  pages.  Frontispieces,  maps,  plates,  illustrations  in  the  text. 

Certain  Sand  Mounds  of  Duval  County,  Florida;  Two  Mounds  on  Murphy  Island,  Florida;  Cer- 
tain Sand  Mounds  of  the  Ocklawaha  River,  Florida.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  of  Phila., 
1895.  Yol.  X.  Quarto,  108  pages.  Frontispiece,  maps,  plates,  illustrations  in  text. 

Additional  Mounds  of  Duval  and  of  Clay  Counties,  Florida;  Mound  Investigation  on  the  East 
Coast  of  Florida;  Certain  Florida  Coast  Mounds  north  of  the  St.  Johns  River.  Private- 
ly printed,  Philadelphia,  189(3.  Quarto,  30  pages.  Map,  plates,  illustrations  in  text. 

Certain  Aboriginal  Mounds  of  the  Georgia  Coast.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  of  Phila.,  1897.  Yol. 
XL  Quarto,  144  pages.  Frontispiece,  map,  plates,  illustrations  in  text. 

Certain  Aboriginal  Mounds  of  the  Coast  of  South  Carolina;  Certain  Aboriginal  Mounds  of  the 
Savannah  River;  Certain  Aboriginal  Mounds  of  the  Altamaha  River;  Recent  Acquisi- 
tions; A Cache  of  Pendent  Ornaments.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  of  Phila.,  1898.  Vol. 
XL  Quarto,  48  pages.  Frontispiece,  maps,  illustrations  in  text. 

Certain  Aboriginal  Remains  of  the  Alabama  Liver.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  of  Phila.,  1899. 
Vol.  XI.  Quart  ;o,  62  pages.  Map,  illustrations  in  text. 

Certain  Antiquities  of  the  Florida  West-Coast.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  of  Phila.,  1900.  Vol. 
XL  Quarto,  46  pages.  Maps,  illustrations  in  text. 

Certain  Aboriginal  Remains  of  the  Northwest  Florida  Coast,  Part  I;  Certain  Aboriginal  Re- 
mains of  the  Tombigbee  River.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  of  Phila.,  1901.  Vol.  XL  Quar- 
to, 400  pages.  Maps,  illustrations  in  text. 

Certain  Aboriginal  Remains  of  the  Northwest  Florida  Coast,  Part  II.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat. 
Sci.  of  Phila.,  1902.  Vol.  XII.  Quarto,  235  pages.  Maps,  illustrations  in  text. 

Certain  Aboriginal  Mounds  of  the  Central  Florida  West-Coast;  Certain  Aboriginal  Mounds  of 
the  Apalachicola  River.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  of  Phila.,  1903.  Vol.  XII.  Quarto,  136 
pages.  Maps,  illustrations  in  text. 

Sheet-copper  from  the  Mounds  is  not  Necessarily  of  European  Origin.  American  Anthropol- 
ogist, Jan.-March,  1903.  Plates  in  text. 

The  So-called  “Hoe-shaped  Implement.”  American  Anthropologist,  July-Sept.,  1903.  Illus- 
trations in  text. 

Aboriginal  Urn-burial  in  the  United  States.  American  Anthropologist,  Oct. -Dec.,  1904.  Plate. 

A Form  of  Urn-burial  on  Mobile  Bay.  American  Anthropologist,  Jan.-March,  1905. 

Certain  Aboriginal  Remains  of  the  Black  Warrior  River  [Moundville]  ; Certain  Aboriginal  Re- 
mains of  the  Lower  Tombigbee  River;  Certain  Aboriginal  Remains  of  Mobile  Bay  and 
Mississippi  Sound;  Miscellaneous  Investigation  in  Florida.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  of 
Phila..  1905.  Vol.  XIII.  Quarto,  206  pages.  Maps,  illustrations  in  text. 

Moundville  Revisited;  Crystal  River  Revisited;  Mounds  of  the  Lower  Chattahoochee  and  Low- 
er Flint  Rivers;  Notes  on  the  Ten  Thousand  Islands,  Florida.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci. 
of  Phila.,  1907.  Vol.  XIII.  Quarto,  144  pages.  Maps,  illustrations  in  text. 

Certain  Mounds  of  Arkansas  and  of  Mississippi  (including  Doctor  Hrdlicka’s  paper  on  the 
Crania).  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  of  Phila.,  1908.  Vol.  XIII.  Quarto,  130  pages.  Maps, 
illustrations  in  text,  eight  colored  plates. 

Antiquities  of  the  Ouachita  Valley.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  of  Phila.,  1909.  Vol.  XIV.  Quar- 
to, 170  pages.  Maps,  illustrations  in  text,  eight  colored  plates.  (In  addition  in  this 
number  is  Doctor  Hrdlicka’s  paper  on  the  skeletal  remains.) 

Antiquities  of  the  St.  Francis,  White,  and  Black  Rivers.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  of  Phila.. 
1910.  Vol.  XTV.  Quarto,  112  pages.  Maps,  illustrations  in  text,  twenty  colored 
plates. 


Some  Aboriginal  Sites  on  Mississippi  River 


BY 


CLARENCE  B.  MOORE 


PHILADELPHIA  : 
191  1 


Neuj  Madrid 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


By  Clarence  B.  Moore. 


This  report  treats  of  our  investigation  of  some  aboriginal  sites  along  Mississippi 
river,  lying  within  three  miles  on  each  side  of  the  stream  or  within  that  distance 
back  from  certain  dead  rivers,  so-called,  which  are  former  courses  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  investigation  covered  the  river  from  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  to  a point 
somewhat  above  Wilson,  Arkansas,  not  far  from  the  southeastern  boundary  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  a distance  of  about  775  miles,  by  water.1  It  occupied  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-one  days:  parts  of  November  and  December,  1910;  of  January  and 
April.  1911;  and  all  of  February  and  March,  1911. 

As  has  been  explained  in  previous  reports,  Mr.  J.  S.  Raybon,  captain  of  the 
steamer  from  which  our  explorations  are  conducted,  as  has  been  his  custom  for 
many  years  to  do,  with  a companion,  in  advance  of  our  coming,  went  over  in  a 
small  boat  much  of  the  territory  which  it  was  our  intention  to  explore,  making 
inquiries  at  landings,  visiting  sites,  and  obtaining  the  names  of  their  owners,  from 
whom  permission  to  dig  could  be  procured  prior  to  our  coming.  The  time  devoted 
by  Captain  Raybon  to  this  work  was  parts  of  two  summers,  and  the  portion  of  the 
Mississippi  river  searched  by  him  was  from  the  northernmost  point  to  which  our 
exploration  was  conducted  down  to  Natchez,  Mississippi.  Consequently  that  part 
of  the  river  (archaeologically  an  unimportant  one  at  the  present  time)  from  Natchez 
to  New  Orleans,  was  investigated  by  us  without  the  advantage  of  a previous  search 
made  in  our  behalf. 

Unfortunately  for  the  cause  of  archaeology,  investigation  along  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi,  where  in  the  past  numerous  Indian  villages  were,  is  affected  by  two 
adverse  conditions.  The  great  river  is  ceaselessly  changing  its  course,  eating  into 
one  place  and  depositing  soil  at  another.  Hale  Point,  Tennessee,  a site  celebrated 
for  the  discovery  of  interesting  relics  even  in  recent  times,  is  now  totally  destroyed 
by  the  encroachment  of  the  stream,  while  it  is  likely,  on  the  other  hand,  that  some 
interesting  sites  along  the  river  now  lie  beneath  thick  layers  of  alluvial  deposit. 

Cultivation  also  is  rapidly  removing  nearly  all  traces  of  aboriginal  remains — 
especially  the  sites  on  comparatively  level  ground,  in  which  so  many  aboriginal 
burials  in  the  Mississippi  river  region  are  found. 

1 Distances  by  water  in  this  report  are  taken  from  the  “Map  of  the  Alluvial  Valley  of  the 
Mi  ssissippi  River.  Published  by  the  Mississippi  River  Commission,  1907,”  a publication  of  the  United 
States  Government. 


368 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Along  the  territory  immediately  bordering  the  lower  Mississippi  cultivation 
has  been  carried  on  for  so  long  a time  that  archaeological  research  there  is  practi- 
cally useless. 

From  New  Orleans,  La.,  to  Baton  Rouge,  in  the  same  State,  126  miles  by 
water,  our  quest  was  not  satisfactory.  The  land  along  the  river  is  thoroughly 
cleared  and  comparatively  thickly  peopled,  and  has  been  under  cultivation  for  so 
long  a time  that  one  hears  but  little  of  aboriginal  remains  within  reach  from  the 
river.  With  but  few  exceptions  along  this  part  of  the  Mississippi  one  hears  only 
reports  of  mounds  that  have  been  ploughed  away  or  sees  only  small  parts  of  them, 
which  have  been  left  by  cultivation.  Aboriginal  cemeteries  are  unknown. 

Between  Baton  Rouge,  La.,  and  Natchez,  Miss.,  134  miles,  following  the  course 
of  the  river,  the  presence  of  mounds  along  the  river  was  comparatively  unknown  to 
the  inhabitants.  With  the  exception  of  one  mound  originally  of  fair  size,  about 
two  miles  above  Baton  Rouge,  which  had  been  largely  dug  into  in  various  places, 
but  four  small  mounds  were  found  by  us,  although  thirty-eight  localities  along  the 
river  were  visited  and  careful  inquiries  were  made. 

Continuing  up  the  river,  between  Natchez  and  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  100  miles  by 
water,  most  careful  inquiries  were  made  by  us  in  addition  to  the  search  conducted 
by  our  agents  at  the  time  of  their  journey  of  discovery.  Nevertheless,  our  joint 
efforts  resulted  in  the  finding  of  but  three  mounds1  until  the  interesting  group  near 
Glass,  Miss.,  a short  distance  below  Vicksburg,  was  reached.  The  mounds  near 
this  place  will  be  fully  described  later  in  this  report. 

Between  Vicksburg  and  the  Blum  mounds,2  that  great  group  a short  distance 
above  Greenville,  Miss.,  about  124  miles  as  the  river  runs,  many  flat-topped  and 
fairly  symmetrical  mounds,  some  of  medium  size,  some  large,3  and  a few  interesting 
groups  of  such  mounds  (including  the  fine  group  at  Mayersville,  Miss.)  were  visited 
bv  us. 

J 

While  all  that  part  of  the  Mississippi  river  under  description  was  carefully 
searched  by  us,  we  believe  that  conditions  north  of  Vicksburg  are  such  as  to  facili- 
tate a more  successful  quest  and  that  consequently  few  if  any  sites  of  importance 
on  this  part  of  the  river  were  passed  by  us  unnoticed.  It  is  true  that  aboriginal 
sites  are  often  well  back  from  the  present  course  of  the  river  and  are  frequently 
screened  from  it  by  trees,4  but  large  mounds,  singly  and  in  groups,  such  as  seem  to 
be  found  along  this  part  of  the  river,  are  as  a rule  well  known  for  some  distance 
around,  and  diligent  inquiry,  such  as  was  made  by  our  agents,  and  later  by  our- 
selves, must,  we  believe,  almost  invariably  have  led  to  their  discovery. 

1 Near  Rodney,  Jefferson  Co.,  Miss.,  about  12  feet  high  ; near  Grand  Gulf,  Claiborne  Co.,  Miss., 
12  feet  in  height,  approximately  ; Locust  Mound,  Horseshoe  Lake,  Warren  Co.,  Miss.,  less  than  4 feet 
in  height.  The  first  mentioned  mound  had  been  partly  washed  away;  the  other  two  were  dug  into  by 
us  with  negative  results. 

2 The  great  group  of  mounds  just  above  Greenville  is  described  in  a former  report  and  is  referred 
to  later  in  this  one. 

3 One  mound  of  the  group  near  Transylvania,  La.,  is  about  50  feet  in  height. 

4 Usually  a late  growth  on  ground  deposited  by  the  river  in  comparatively  recent  times,  and  not 
forest  trees  among  which  sites  would  be  likely  to  be  found  intact. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


3G9 


Mounds  or  groups  of  mounds,  all  of  considerable  size,  were  found  by  us  between 
Vicksburg  and  Greenville  as  follows  : 

Near  Henderson,  East  Carroll  Parish,  Louisiana. 

Near  Chotard,  Issaquena  Co.,  Mississippi. 

Near  Transylvania,  East  Carroll  Parish,  La. 

Near  Longwood,  East  Carroll  Parish,  La. 

Near  Mayersville,  Issaquena  Co.,  Miss. 

Near  Pilcher’s  Point,  East  Carroll  Parish,  La. 

Near  Harwood,  Chicot  Co.,  Arkansas. 

Unfortunately,  between  Vicksburg  and  the  Blum  mounds,  though  considerable 
work  was  done  by  us,  neither  bones  nor  artifacts  were  discovered. 

De  Soto’s  followers  saw  mounds  in  use  as  dwelling-sites  for  chiefs  who  lived 
upon  the  mounds,  with  their  people  on  the  level  ground  about  them,  and  long  inves- 
tigation in  recent  times  has  shown  that  many  mounds1  were  of  this  domiciliary 
class  and  apparently  were  not  constructed  primarily  for  burial  purposes. 

Some  of  these  large,  flat-topped  mounds  which  had  every  appearance  of  having 
been  domiciliary,  were  dug  into  superficially  by  us,  while  others  had  so  suffered  by 
wash  of  rain  that  the  making  of  excavations  in  them  seemed  useless,  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  in  the  rare  cases  when  domiciliary  mounds  contain  burials,  such  burials 
are  near  the  surface. 

A few  mounds  in  use  as  modern  cemeteries  were  closed  to  us. 

Though  there  is  but  little  hope  of  the  discovery  of  relics  of  any  kind  in  domi- 
ciliary mounds,  they  nevertheless  are  of  great  importance  in  an  investigation,  since 
they  mark  former  centers  of  aboriginal  life,  and  as  life  and  death  go  hand  in  hand, 
the  presence  of  these  mounds  indicates  where  cemeteries  are  or  have  been. 

As  the  reader  of  that  part  of  this  report  describing  the  more  northerly  sites 
investigated  by  us  will  learn,  aboriginal  burials  there  were  found  by  ns  in  level 
ground,  in  rises,  and  in  ridges,  on  the  surface  of  which  almost  invariably  lay  various 
indications  of  former  aboriginal  life,  in  the  shape  of  fragments  of  pottery,  bits  of 
flint,  and  remnants  of  human  bones,  etc. 

Though  elaborate  search  was  made  by  us  and  some  digging  was  done  in  the 
ground  surrounding  the  mounds  between  Vicksburg  and  Greenville,  no  indication 
whatever — superficial  or  interior — of  the  presence  of  aboriginal  cemeteries  was 
found  ; nor  was  there  any  reliable  history  of  the  finding,  at  any  of  these  sites,  of 
anything  indicating  the  presence  of  aboriginal  burials. 

It  is  our  belief  that  this  absence  of  cemeteries  from  the  region  under  discussion 
lies  in  the  fact  that  the  long  cultivation  to  which  the  land  has  been  subjected  has 
destroyed  all  aboriginal  burials  that  formerly  were  there,  and  that  this  occurred  at 
a time  beyond  the  remembrance  of  those  now  alive  and  when  general  interest  in 
archaeological  matters  was  so  slight  that  the  discovery  of  human  bones  and  of  arti- 
facts was  allowed  to  pass  unrecorded. 

1 We  would  explain  that  in  the  use  of  the  word  ‘'mounds”  reference  is  made  to  symmetrical 
mounds  or  to  those  that  seem  to  have  been  such,  and  not  to  rises  of  the  ground,  or  ridges,  or  flat, 
elevated  areas  that  have  grown  up  under  occupancy,  which  often  contain  burials. 

47  JOURN.  A.  N.  S.  PHILA.,  VOL.  XIV. 


370 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


From  Greenville  to  the  point  where  our  season’s  investigation  ended,  295  miles 
by  the  river,  though  many  sites  have  been  destroyed  by  cultivation,  some  still 
remain,  and  all  those  where  successful  work  was  done  by  us  will  be  particularly 
described  in  this  report,  A number  of  other  sites  in  this  region,  however,  in  which 
our  quest  was  unrewarded,  though  much  work  was  done  in  some  of  them,  will  not 
be  referred  to. 

Throughout  our  season’s  work  there  were  found  by  us  sixty-five  skulls  of  the 
aborigines,  in  good  condition,  and  a considerable  number  of  other  parts  of  the  skele- 
tons, all  of  which  were  sent  as  a gift  to  the  United  States  National  Museum.  Dr. 
Ales  Hrdlicka,  Curator  of  the  Division  of  Physical  Anthropology  in  the  Museum, 
will,  we  trust,  describe  these  remains  at  a later  period. 

That  part  of  the  Mississippi  river  whose  aboriginal  sites  are  described  in  this 
report  is  included  in  the  Lower  and  Middle  Mississippi  Valley  regions— geographi- 
cal divisions  (among  others)  made  by  Holmes  1 to  facilitate  his  description  of  abo- 
riginal pottery,  in  certain  of  his  exhaustive  memoirs  on  the  subject,  to  which  the 
reader  of  this  report  is  particularly  referred. 

The  Middle  Mississippi  Valley  region  is  defined  by  Professor  Holmes  as  fol- 
lows, in  writing  of  its  pottery  : 2 “Apparently  its  greatest  and  most  striking  devel- 
opment centers  about  the  contiguous  portions  of  Arkansas,  Missouri,  Illinois,  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee.  The  area  covered  is  much  greater,  however,  than  would 
thus  be  indicated ; its  borders  are  extremely  irregular  and  are  not  as  yet  at  all 
clearly  defined.’’ 

As  a boundary  line  between  the  Lower  and  Middle  Mississippi  Valley  regions 
has  not  as  yet  been  definitely  determined,  we  would  suggest  that  the  Arkansas 
river  and  an  imaginary  line  extending  eastward  from  its  mouth  be  considered  as 
such,  not  only  because  the  geographical  position  of  the  river  fits  it  to  serve  as  the 
basis  of  such  a division,  but  for  the  reason  that  the  aboriginal  pottery  of  the  Arkan- 
sas river  possesses  the  distinctive  features  belonging  to  the  ware  of  both  the  region 
above  and  the  region  below  that  stream. 

North  of  the  Arkansas  river  incised  decoration  on  earthenware  is  comparatively 
seldom  encountered,  and  when  it  is  present  among  the  great  number  of  undecorated 
pieces,  it  is,  as  a rule,  of  inferior  execution,  often  consisting  of  hardly  more  than  a 
series  of  parallel  lines.  Incised  decoration,  excellent  in  design  and  in  execution,  is 
rarely  met  with  north  of  the  Arkansas  river. 

On  the  other  hand,  south  of  that  river  engraved,  incised,  and  trailed  decoration 
on  pottery  is  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception,  and  vessels  marked  by  beautifully 
incised  decoration  are  not  infrequently  found. 

In  the  Middle  Mississippi  Valley  region,  north  of  the  Arkansas,  pottery  with 
decoration  in  color — solid  red  or  polychrome — is  often  found. 

South  of  the  Arkansas,  however,  the  use  of  pigments  for  decoration  of  pottery 

1 W illiam  H.  Holmes.  “Ancient  Pottery  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,”  Fourth  An.  Rep.  Bur. 
Etlin.  William  PI.  Holmes.  “Aboriginal  Pottery  of  Eastern  LTnited  States,”  Twentieth  An.  Rep. 
Bur.  Am.  Ethn. 

2 Twentieth  An.  Rep.  Bur.  Am.  Ethn.,  p.  80. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


371 


was  rather  infrequently  resorted  to,  and  while  some  few  vessels  from  this  region 
have  solid  coatings  of  red,  they  are  exceptional  and  they  usually  bear  incised  deco- 
ration in  addition.  Vessels  with  polychrome  designs  are  very  exceptionally  met 
with  in  the  Lower  Mississippi  province. 

Human  effigy  vessels  are  comparatively  abundant  in  the  region  lying  north  of 
the  Arkansas  river,  while  south  of  that  river  vessels  of  this  type  are  seldom  found. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  north  of  the  Arkansas  the  average  quality  of 
the  ware  and  the  character  of  the  modeling  are  inferior  to  those  of  the  region  to 
the  southward. 

The  pottery  of  the  Arkansas  river,  as  we  have  said,  shares  the  distinctive  feat- 
ures present  in  that  of  both  territories.  Incised  decoration,  as  well  as  the  use  of 
pigments  for  decoration  of  pottery,  are  abundantly  evident  in  the  valley  of  the 
Arkansas. 

Vessels  representing  the  human  form,  are  fairly  numerous  along  the  Arkan- 
sas, but  are  not  found  there  in  the  same  numbers  they  are  met  with  in  regions 
farther  north. 

In  the  sites  of  the  Arkansas  river  also  are  many  vessels  resembling  the  less- 
carefully  made  ones  of  the  region  to  the  north,  while  many  others,  in  excellence  of 
ware  and  beauty  of  form  and  of  decoration,  call  to  mind  the  better  work  of  the 
Lower  Mississippi  Valley. 

As  the  reader  possibly  may  care  to  inquire  further  as  to  the  pottery  of  these 
regions,  we  would  suggest  that  the  two  memoirs  of  Professor  Holmes,  already  cited, 
and  “Contributions  to  the  Archaeology  of  Missouri,  Part  I,  Pottery,”1  and  our 
“Antiquities  of  the  St.  Francis,  White  and  Black  rivers,  Arkansas,”  2 treat  of  the 
pottery  of  the  Middle  Mississippi  region. 

The  aboriginal  pottery  of  Middle  Tennessee,  which  we  presume  may  be  classed 
as  belonging  to  the  Middle  Mississippi  region,  is  described  in  General  Thruston’s 
work,  “Antiquities  of  Tennessee.” 

The  ware  of  the  Lower  Mississippi  Valley  region  is  considered  b}^  Professor 
Holmes  in  the  Twentieth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau,  and,  in  part,  in  our 
“Antiquities  of  the  Ouachita  Valley.”3 

T1  le  earthenware  of  the  Arkansas  river  is  partly  described  in  Holmes'  memoirs 
already  referred  to;  in  his  “Collection  from  Arkansas  County”4;  and  in  our  “Cer- 
tain Mounds  of  Arkansas  and  of  Mississippi,  Part  I.  Mounds  and  Cemeteries  of 
the  Lower  Arkansas  River.”  5 

In  parts  of  this  report  reference  will  be  made  to  the  exact  number  of  earthen- 
ware vessels  found  by  ns  at  various  sites  under  description.  To  assume  that  all 
these  vessels  are  entire  would  be  incorrect;  in  fact  but  few  of  them  are  so.  It  is 
our  endeavor  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  approximate  total  of  vessels  placed  by  the 

1 Dr.  Edward  Evers. 

- Jonrn.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  Vol.  XIV. 

Jonrn.  Acad.  Nat,  Sci.,  Phila.,  Vol.  XIV. 

4 Third  An.  Kep.  Bur.  Ethn.,  p.  476  et  seq. 

5 .Tourn.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.’  Vol.  XIII. 


372 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


aborigines  in  such  parts  of  the  sites  as  were  dug  through  by  us,  and  hence  each 
vessel  found  is  counted  as  one,  no  matter  how  fragmentary  it  may  have  been  at  the 
time  of  its  discovery. 

Various  causes  contributed  to  the  mutilated  condition  of  numerous  vessels. 
Many  were  more  or  less  broken  by  aboriginal  disturbance, — grave  cutting  through 
grave, — while  others,  soaked  with  water  and  consequently  softened,  gave  way 
under  the  pressure  of  the  soil,  in  the  course  of  years,  and  were  crushed  to  frag- 
ments. Numbers  of  vessels  also,  reached  in  process  of  cultivating  the  ground  in 
recent  times,  were  hopelessly  ruined  by  breakage — not  alone  shattered  by  the  plow, 
but  having  parts  irretrievably  carried  away. 

There  is  still  another  factor  contributing  to  lessen  the  proportion  of  entire 
vessels  discovered.  Although  the  ceremonial  breaking  of  earthenware  vessels  did 
not  obtain  in  the  region  under  description,  the  thrifty  aborigines  were  prone  to 
utilize  imperfect  vessels  for  interment  with  the  dead,  and  hence  the  discoverer  often 
conies  upon  bottles  without  necks  or  with  only  parts  of  necks;  bottles  which,  hav- 
ing had  basal  supports,  have  them  in  part  only  or  are  without  them  ; other  vessels 
from  which  important  parts  are  missing,  including  bowls  once  decorated  with 
modeled  heads  and  tails  but  which  have  them  no  more. 

Another  fact  to  emphasize,  especially  in  connection  with  the  Middle  Mississippi 
Valley  region,  is  the  large  proportion  of  inferior  earthenware  placed  with  the  dead 
in  some  of  the  sites — vessels  of  inferior  texture  and  of  ordinary  form — often  asym- 
metrical— without  decoration  of  any  kind,  with  the  exception  perhaps  of  beaded  or 
notched  margins,  or  possibly  a few  rude  lines  of  incised  decoration.  We  do  not 
believe  it  possible  for  those  familiar  with  the  pottery  of  this  region  only  through 
visits  to  museums,  or  by  inspection  of  illustrations  of  selected  specimens,  to  have 
any  conception  of  the  small  proportion  of  really  interesting  vessels  found  in  some 
aboriginal  sites  in  the  region  in  question.  It.  has  been  our  fortune  there,  more  than 
once  to  unearth  fifty  successive  vessels  without  coming  upon  one  presenting  any 
feature  of  especial  interest,  either  in  the  way  of  elegance  of  form  or  of  decoration, 
or  of  oddity  of  design. 

The  large  proportion  of  vessels  of  inferior  ware  and  of  commonplace  form,  care- 
lessly modeled  and  scarcely  decorated,  or  without  decoration,  found  among  the 
mortuary  tributes  of  pottery  made  by  the  aborigines  of  the  Middle  Mississippi 
region,  arises,  we  think,  from  the  great  quantity  of  pottery  in  use  in  that  region  in 
aboriginal  times.  The  time  required  for  the  making  of  this  superabundance  of 
vessels  perhaps  bred  carelessness  of  manufacture  in  respect  to  much  of  the  ware, 
and  set  the  potters  working  in  a perfunctory  way,  as  is  exemplified  by  the  great 
repetition  in  the  form  of  the  vessels  and  in  their  decoration. 

The  pottery  obtained  by  us  in  a broken  condition,  that  seemed  desirable  to 
place  on  exhibition  in  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  where  all 
our  collections  may  be  seen,  has  been  cemented  together,  with  slight  restoration  in 
some  cases,  always  made  in  a way  to  be  distinguished  from  the  original. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


070 

o  / o 

The  reader  is  referred  to  a recent  publication  of  the  Bureau  of  American 
Ethnology  for  a full  and  interesting  account  of  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  the  Lower 
Mississippi  Valley1 — this  region,  of  course,  not  of  necessity  coinciding  as  to  bound- 
aries with  the  one  to  which  the  same  name  has  been  given  in  order  to  facilitate 
descriptions  of  its  pottery. 

All  measurements  of  objects  described  in  this  report  are  approximate,  and 
reduction  in  size  in  the  illustrations  of  them  is  linear. 

Dr.  M.  G.  Miller,  who,  as  anatomist  of  the  expeditions,  has  taken  part  in  all 
our  previous  field  work  and  in  putting  all  our  reports  through  the  press,  aided  the 
investigation  again  this  season. 

Mr.  S.  G.  Weir,  as  assistant,  gave  valuable  aid  in  a number  of  ways,  and  Cap- 
tains J.  S.  Ray  bon,  commander  of  our  steamer,  and  Hugh  W.  Nixon  of  Memphis, 
Tenn.,  a Mississippi  pilot  since  1850,  contributed  to  the  success  of  the  expedition. 

The  thanks  of  the  Academy  are  tendered  Prof.  F.  A.  Lucas  for  the  identifica- 
tion of  bones  of  lower  animals;  Dr.  H.  A.  Pilsbry  and  Mr.  E.  G.  Vanatta  for  deter- 
mination of  shells;  Mr.  F.  J.  Keeley  for  identification 2 of  minerals  and  rocks;  Dr. 
H.  F.  Keller  for  chemical  determinations;  Mr.  Stewart  Culin  for  valuable  informa- 
tion; Miss  H.  N.  Wardle  for  suggestions,  and  aid  with  the  index  ; and  Mr.  F.  W. 
Hodge  for  literary  revision  of  the  report. 

The  Academy  also  wishes  to  express  its  gratitude  to  the  owners  of  plantations 
along  the  Mississippi  river  and  various  dead  rivers  tributary  thereto,  who,  without 
exception,  in  the  most  liberal  manner,  placed  their  property  at  its  disposal  for 
investigation  and  most  courteously  did  everything  in  their  power  to  insure  the  suc- 
cess of  the  expedition. 

We  shall  now  take  up  in  detail  some  of  the  sites  investigated  by  us  in  this 
season’s  work,  as  a rule  including  only  such  as  yielded  tangible  results,  though 
many  other  sites,  as  we  have  said,  were  visited  and  a number  were  dug  into  by  us, 
some  to  a considerable  extent. 

1 John  R.  Swanton.  Bulletin  43.  “Indian  Tribes  of  the  Lower  Mississippi  Valley  and  Adja- 
cent Coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.” 

2 For  obvious  reasons  we  have  not  furnished  sections  for  the  microscope,  cut  from  objects  sub- 
mitted to  Mr.  Keeley,  who  consequently  has  not  been  able  to  make  as  exact  determinations  as  he  other- 
wise could  have  made. 


3 3^ 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


375 


SITES  INVESTIGATED. 

(Lower  Mississippi  Valley.) 

Near  Shaw  Field,  Pointe  Coupee  Parish,1  Louisiana. 

Trudeau,  West  Feliciana  Parish,  La. 

Near  Glendale  Landing,  Concordia  Parish,  La. 

Near  Ellis  Clift*,  Adams  County,  Mississippi. 

Near  Oak  Bend  Landing,  Warren  County,  Miss. 

Near  Glass,  Warren  County,  Miss. 

Shady  side  Landing,  Washington  County,  Miss. 

Richland,  Desha  County,  Arkansas. 

Near  Neblett  Landing,  Bolivar  County,  Miss. 

(Middle  Mississippi  Valley.) 

Avenue,  Phillips  County,  Ark. 

Kent  Place,  Lee  County,  Ark. 

Johnson  Place,  Tunica  County,  Miss. 

Commerce,  Tunica  County,  Miss. 

Rhodes  Place,  Crittenden  County,  Ark. 

Mound  Place,  Crittenden  County,  Ark. 

Bradley  Place,  Crittenden  County,  Ark. 

Pecan  Point,  Mississippi  County,  Ark. 

Stoftle  Place,  Mississippi  County,  Ark. 

Mounds  near  Shaw  Field,  Pointe  Coupee  Parish,  La. 

About  one  mile  in  a WNW.  direction  from  Shaw  Field,  which  is  on  the  river’s 
bank,  are  two  mounds,  near  together,  in  woods,  on  property  of  Messrs.  James  and 
Emmett  Cotton,  of  Raccourci,  La. 

The  larger  mound,  somewhat  more  than  6 feet  in  height,  is  almost  square  as 
to  its  base,  with  a diameter  of  about  100  feet.  Eleven  trial-holes  sunk  into  the 
summit-plateau  showed  the  mound  to  be  of  rather  raw  clay  into  which  graves,  none 
of  which  found  by  us  exceeding  2 feet  in  depth,  had  been  dug  from  the  surface  in 
places.  Five  burials  were  encountered,  four  of  the  bunched  variety,  and  one,  badly 
decayed,  which  seemingly  had  been  a skeleton  closely  flexed  on  the  left  side. 

Of  the  four  bunched  burials  one  consisted  of  bones  with  which  apparently  no 
skull  had  been  placed;  one  had  three  skulls;  one,  live  skulls;  and  one  had  seven- 
teen skulls.  All  the  bones  were  badly  decayed. 

The  only  objects  found  with  the  burials  were  three  flat  pebbles  : two  with  one 
burial,  one  with  another. 

The  smaller  mound,  resembling  the  other  in  shape,  seemed  not  to  have  been 
used  for  burial  purposes,  as  our  digging  came  upon  only  clay  unmixed  with  organic 
matter. 

1 The  State  of  Louisiana  uses  the  term  parish  to  designate  that  division  of  the  commonwealth 
which  in  every  other  State  in  the  Union  is  known  as  a county. 


376 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Site  at  Trudeau,  West  Feliciana  Parish,  La. 

Immediately  at  Trudeau  Landing  is  a farm  with  a residence  somewhat  back 
from  the  river.  At  one  side  of  this 
house  is  black  soil,  indicating  former 
aboriginal  occupancy.  Through  part 
of  this  ground  ran  a small  road,  from 
the  side  of  which,  we  were  informed 
by  the  occupant  of  the  house,  an  intel- 
ligent colored  man,  a brass  kettle  had 
been  uncovered  by  wash  of  rain. 

While  digging  into  this  place,  after 
the  discovery  of  the  kettle,  we  were 
told,  various  objects  of  iron  or  of  steel 
were  unearthed,  and  also  a pipe,  prob- 
ably of  catlinite  (Fig.  1),  which  we 
obtained. 


Fig.  1. — Pipe  of  catlinite.  Trudeau,  La.  (Full  size.) 


Seven  trial-holes  put  down  by  us  near  where  the  kettle  had  been  discovered, 
failed  to  come  upon  graves,  though  dwelling-site  debris  was  encountered  in  places. 

Mound  near  Glendale  Landing,  Concordia  Parish,  La. 

In  woods  about  1.5  mile  in  a northerly  direction  from  Glendale  Landing,  on 
property  belonging  to  Mr.  J.  M.  Davis,  resident  nearby,  is  a mound  irregularly  cir- 
cular in  outline,  having  a basal  diameter  of  about  100  feet.  The  present  height  of 
the  mound,  which  is  said  to  have  been  trampled  down  somewhat  by  cattle  who  seek 
it  at  times  of  overtlow,  is  about  4 feet.  As  this  place  of  refuge  is  highly  prized  by 
its  owner,  its  destruction  by  us  was  wholly  out  of  the  question. 

The  mound  apparently  contains  many  burials,  as  eight  trial-holes  came  upon 
seven  interments,  and  in  the  removal  of  these,  eight  more  were  discovered.  These 
fifteen  burials,  all  in  graves  let  down  from  the  surface,  none  deeper  than  slightly 
more  than  2 feet,  were  nine  of  the  bunched  variety  and  six  of  adults  extended  on 
the  back,  one  of  which  had  lost  a leg  through  aboriginal  disturbance. 

Although  bits  of  pottery  were  scattered  throughout  the  mound,  probably  refuse 
material  gathered  with  the  soil,  but  one  vessel  was  found  with  the  burials.  This 

vessel  (Fig.  2),  which  lay  near 
the  skull  of  a child,  forming 
part  of  a bunched  burial,  is  a 
small,  flat  bowl,  having  as  deco- 
ration a design  in  the  main 
composed  of  partly  interlocked 
scrolls,  alternate  scrolls  filled 
in  with  reticulate  lines,  and 
having  a flat,  circular  base 

Fig.  2.-Earthenware  vessel.  Glendale  Landing,  La.  (Diam.  4.8  inches.)  slightly  projecting,  ill  the  Cen- 
ter of  which  a hole  has  been  made — possibly  by  a root. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


377 


Two  burials,  a bunched  and  an  extended  one,  were  accompanied  with  masses 
of  red  pigment;  while  a large  bunched  burial,  having  fifteen  skulls,  had  a lump  of 
red  paint  and  a bit  of  yellow  ochre  about  2 inches  in  diameter,  concave  on  one  side, 
where  doubtless  material  for  use  as  paint  had  been  worked  out. 

An  extended  burial  had  red  and  yellow  pigment  near  the  skull,  and  a small, 
flint1  arrowhead  with  triangular  blade  and  a shank  for  attachment. 

Apart  from  bones  in  the  soil  was  a slender,  barbed  arrowhead  of  flint. 

Mound  near  Ellis  Cliff,  Adams  County,  Miss. 

About  one  mile  in  a southerly  direction  from  Ellis  Cliff,  on  rising  ground  form- 
ing part  of  the  hills  that  here  approach  the  river,  was  the  remnant  of  a small  mound 
which  had  been  dug  into  previous  to  our  coming.  Investigation  of  the  parts 
remaining  yielded  two  burials  and  parts  of  two  others.  One  skeleton  lay  closely 
flexed  on  the  back,  the  knees  being  drawn  up  toward  the  chin.  Another  was 
closely  flexed  on  the  right  side.  Two  skeletons  which  had  been  interred  side  by 
side,  closely  flexed  on  the  right  side,  had  lost  heads  and  shoulders  by  the  making 
of  another  grave  in  aboriginal  times. 

No  artifacts  were  present  with  these  burials. 


Fig.  3. — Pipe  of  sandstone.  Chuich  Hill,  Miss.  (Full  size.) 

At  Gum  Ridge,  Jefferson  County,  Miss.,  a settlement  on  the  river,  Mr.  T.  G. 
Wood  of  that  place,  kindly  presented  to  the  Academy  a gracefully  shaped  celt, 
probably  of  metamorpbic  rock,  and  a pipe  of  sandstone,  having  a rounded  bowl 
but  rectangular  in  transverse  section  as  to  the  part  intended  for  the  reception  of 

1 The  term  “flint”  is  used  in  a general  way  in  this  report  to  include  chert  and  other  closely 
allied  rocks. 


48  JO  URN.  A.  X.  S.  PHILA.,  VOL.  XIV. 


378 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


the  stem  (Fig.  3).  The  celt  and  the  pipe,  Mr.  Wood  informed  us,  were  found  by  a 
colored  man  at  Church  Hill,  a short  distance  from  Gum  Ridge,  and  probably  were 
uncovered  by  the  plow. 

Mound  near  Oak  Bend  Landing,  Warren  County,  Miss. 

A few  feet  from  the  water’s  edge  at  Oak  Bend  Landing,  is  a mound  of  irregular 
outline,  about  50  feet  and  60  feet  in  basal  diameters,  and  3 feet  high,  approximately. 
Persons  long  resident  in  the  neighborhood  report  the  mound,  which  they  say  once 
was  considerably  higher,  to  have  been  graded  to  serve  as  a foundation  for  a house, 
and  subsequently  to  have  suffered  additional  loss  in  height  through  wash  of  water. 
The  house  had  disappeared  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  but  a cistern,  which  no  doubt 
had  belonged  to  the  house,  was  present  in  the  mound. 

Trial-holes  in  this  mound  came  at  once  upon  human  remains,  and  two  days 
were  devoted  by  us  to  the  investigation  of  what  probably  had  been  a small  burial 
mound. 

Unfortunately  much  digging  into  this  mound  had  been  done  by  others,  as  there 
was  great  disturbance  of  bones  and  of  artifacts,  in  places,  and  numerous  corroded 
nails  of  iron  were  found  in  the  course  of  our  digging,  which  presumably  had  been 
left  on  the  surface  of  the  mound  at  the  time  of  the  demolition  of  the  house,  and  had 
been  introduced  into  the  mound  through  various  excavations. 

Owing  to  all  this  disturbance  and  to  the  advanced  state  of  decay  in  which  the 
skeletal  remains  were  found,  the  exact  score  of  burials  and  their  classification  were 
hard  to  determine.  Twenty -eight  burials  were  noted  by  us,  mostly  belonging  to 
the  bunched  variety,  but  a few  burials  of  adults  extended  on  the  back,  and  the 
skeletons  of  several  children  also  were  present  in  the  mound. 

Three  individual  burials  had  the  skulls  covered  by  inverted  bowls  which  fitted 
the  skulls  like  caps. 

Some  of  the  bunched  burials  were  extensive,  one  having  no  fewer  than  thirty 
skulls  (many  in  fragments)  and  a great  quantity  of  other  bones,  though  we  were  not 
in  a position  to  say  whether  or  not  the  full  complement  of  bones  for  the  number  of 
skeletons  represented  by  the  skulls  was  present.  The  skulls  of  the  bunched  burials, 
as  a rule,  were  heaped  together  at  one  side  of  the  burial. 

In  most  instances  singularly  few  artifacts  lay  with  the  bunched  burials,  when 
the  number  of  individuals  these  burials  often  represented  is  taken  into  account.  For 
instance,  the  burial  we  have  cited  (which  included  with  the  rest  the  skulls  of  two 
adolescents  and  of  three  children)  was  accompanied  with  a single  vessel  of  earthen- 
ware. This,  however,  was  an  extreme  case,  other  bunched  burials  having  been 
somewhat  more  liberally  provided.  For  instance,  Burial  No.  7,  a large,  bunched 
burial  with  many  skulls,  had  associated  with  various  parts  of  it:  twelve  earthen- 
ware vessels;  fragments  of  corroded  sheet-brass  or  copper;  glass  beads;  a rude  disk 
of  bituminous  coal,  about  2.5  inches  in  diameter;  powdered  hematite  in  two  places. 

A feature  of  this  burial  was  the  presence  of  several  toy  vessels  of  earthenware, 
put  in  near  bones  of  children. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


379 


With  a number  of  burials  in  this  mound  were  glass  beads,  and  with  some  were 
fragments  of  sheet-brass  or  of  sheet-copper — sheet-brass  certainly  in  some  cases. 
The  mound,  therefore,  is  post-Columbian. 

We  shall  now  describe  the  artifacts  present  with  some  of  the  burials. 

Burial  No.  13  was  the  skeleton  of  an  adult,  extended  on  the  back.  At  the 
head  was  an  earthenware  vessel  in  fragments;  a bottle  lay  at  the  feet.  On  the 
chest  of  the  skeleton  and  extending  to  one  side  of  it  lay  a small  bunch  of  human 
bones  with  which  no  skull  was  found.  Lying  above  this  bunch,  but  possibly  deposi- 
ted for  the  lower  burial  also,  were  a number  of  objects  in  line,  overlapping  each 
other  to  some  extent,  as  follows  : an  imperfect  Hint  arrowhead;  a chisel  wrought 
from  a Hint  pebble;  a polished  celt  of  Hint,  4 inches  in  length  ; two  celts  of  sedi- 
mentary rock,  5.25  inches,  and  6.75  inches  in  length,  respectively;  a tool  or  weapon 
of  iron  or  of  steel,  about  5 inches  in  length,  badly  corroded  ; and,  together,  live 
lance-points  and  knives  of  Hint,  two  broken;  one  leaf-shaped  implement  of  Hint,  3.5 
inches  long ; and  a bit  of  rock-crystal. 

Burial  No.  20,  a bunch  having  eleven  skulls,  including  two  of  adolescents,  was 
accompanied  with  twro  earthenware  vessels.  Near  a skull,  not  on  each  side  of  it, 
but  placed  together,  were  two  disks  of  indurated  clay,  each  about  1.24  inch  in 

diameter  and  .75  inch  in  thickness.  The 
surface  of  these  disks  is  polished  and  seems 
in  additition  to  have  received  a coating  of 
some  dark  material.  The  periphery  of 
each  disk  shows  a slight  projection  all  the 
way  round  on  each  side  (Fig.  4).  Presuma- 
bly these  objects  were  ear-plugs,  though  the 
projecting  parts  seem  inadequate  to  have 
held  the  ornament  in  place  unless  it  exactly 
fitted  the  opening  in  the  lobe  of  the  ear. 

Burial  No.  26,  of  the  bunched  variety,  having  twenty-five  skulls  (one  of  which 
had  belonged  to  an  adolescent  and  four  to  children),  had  in  association  four  vessels 
of  earthenware,  variously  placed,  and,  together,  one  arrowhead  of  Hint  and  three 
pebbles.  With  this  burial  also  was  a circular  object  of  indurated  clay,  1.3  inches 
in  diameter,  centrally  perforated,  concave  on  both  sides.  The  two  faces  of  this 
object,  which  perhaps  was  an  ear-plug,  are  polished. 

Burial  No.  28  consisted  of  a single  skull  over  which  wras  an  inverted  bowl. 
We  have  classed  this  burial  among  individual  ones  in  the  belief  that  the  remainder 
of  the  skeleton  had  disappeared  through  decay  or  in  the  great  disturbance  to  which 
the  mound  had  been  subjected.  Beside  the  covering  bowl  stood  another  vessel,  and 
near  the  skull  and  just  below  the  rim  of  the  bowl  over  it  were  two  chisels  wrought 
from  pebbles  of  Hint. 

A few  objects  lay  in  the  mound  apart  from  burials.  These  objects,  which 
probably  owed  their  position  to  disturbance,  were:  a small  celt  of  diabase;  a chisel 
made  from  a Hint  pebble  ; an  ornament  1.25  inch  in  length,  fashioned  from  the  axis 


Fig.  4. — Ear-plugs  of  indurated  clay.  Oak  Bend  Land- 
ing, Miss.  (Full  size.) 


380 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


of  a marine  univalve  ( Fulgur ),  including  a small  part  of  the  whorl,  perforated  lon- 
gitudinally; a flat  pebble  about  3 inches  in  length,  chipped  on  opposite  sides  near 
the  smaller  end  to  facilitate  attachment  to  a handle,  perhaps  for  use  as  a pebble 
hammer. 

A sample  of  pigment  from  this  mound  is  reported  on  by  Dr.  H.  F.  Keller  as 
follows:  “That  marked  ‘Site  at  Oak  Bend,  Warren  Co.,  Miss.,’  is  a red  ochre  con- 
taining about  40%  of  clay  and  silica  and  about  60%  of  hydrated  oxide  of  iron.  It 
is  intensely  red  throughout  its  entire  mass  and  is  coarsely  granular  and  gritty.'’ 

Forty-six  vessels  of  earthenware,  mostly  in  small  fragments,  were  recovered 
from  this  mound.  The  ware,  as  a rule,  is  inferior  to  that  found  in  the  mound  near 
Glass,  only  two  miles  distant.  Ten  of  the  vessels  are  without  decoration  ; most  of 
the  others  bear  incised  or  trailed  designs,  some,  however,  crude  and  scanty. 

One  fragment  of  a vessel  which  apparently  had  been  coated  with  red  pigment 
was  the  only  evidence  encountered  of  the  use  of  paint  in  the  decoration  of  earthen- 
ware in  this  mound. 

Several  of  the  better  class  of  vessels  from  the  Oak  Bend  Landing  mound  will 
now  be  described  in  detail. 

Vessel  No.  10.  This  bottle  (Fig.  5),  with  low,  wide  neck,  is  of  hard  and  com- 


Fig.  5. — Vessel  No.  10.  Oak  Berul  Landing,  Miss.  (Height  6 inches.) 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


381 


paratively  thin  ware.  The  modeling  is  symmetrical;  the  trailed  decoration  has 
been  executed  by  a firm  and  practised  hand.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  practi- 
cally the  same  decoration  may  be  seen  on  a vessel  from  near  Menard  Mound, 
Arkansas  river,  Ark.,  figured  1 by  us. 

Vessel  No.  8.  A bottle  5.5  inches  in  height,  with  low,  wide  mouth,  bearing  a 
trailed  design  largely  composed  of  circles  between  lines,  some  curved,  some  straight. 
The  design  is  rather  faintly  executed  and  consequently  wanting  in  effect. 

Vessel  No.  24.  A bowl  having  a modeled  head  of  an  animal  and  a conven- 
tional tail,  both  rising  vertically  from  opposite  sides.  Within  the  head,  the  jaws  of 
which  are  extended,  are  objects  which  rattle  when  shaken.  Around  the  body  are 
two  trailed,  encircling  lines,  rudely  done,  enclosing  diagonal  lines.  On  the  base  a 
six-pointed  star  is  incised.  Diameter  6.5  inches. 

Site  near  Glass,  Warren  County,  Miss. 

About  one  mile  NNE.  from  Glass,  a station  on  the  Yazoo  and  Mississippi  Val- 
ley railroad,  on  the  plantation  of  Mrs.  J.  P.  Cline,  of  New  York  City,  which  is 
under  the  management  of  Mr.  William  G.  Paxton,  of  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  are  four 
mounds  forming  a very  irregular  circle  with  a diameter  of  about  420  feet.  Some 
distance  north  of  these  mounds  is  another,  much  spread  and  worn,  on  which  is 
a house. 

None  of  these  mounds  was  erected  as  a place  of  refuge  in  time  of  Hood,  for 
although  they  are  on  ground  subject  to  occasional  overflow,  they  are  not  ten  min- 
utes’ journey  from  the  bills  which  approach  the  river  at  this  place. 

The  largest  mound  of  the  group  composing  the  so-called  circle  is  30  feet  in 
height  and  is  still  rather  symmetrical,  though  wash  of  rain  has  already  scarred  the 
upper  part.  The  basal  diameter  N.  by  E.  and  S.  by  W.  is  180  feet;  E.  by  S.  and 
W.  by  N.  it  is  167  feet.  The  diameters  of  the  summit-plateau  in  the  same  direc- 
tions respectively,  are  60  and  64  feet. 

Fourteen  trial-holes  in  this  plateau  failed  to  come  upon  artifact  or  bone. 

Two  other  mounds  of  the  four  composing  the  circle  have  been  greatly  mutila- 
ted. One,  about  6 feet  in  height  originally,  has  been  partly  cut.  away  in  making  a 
road,  while  the  other,  curtailed  on  one  side  by  the  same  road,  has  been  in  part 
washed  away  on  the  opposite  side  by  a small  bayou,  and  has  been  leveled  to  a con- 
siderable extent  to  serve  as  a foundation  for  a building  which  formerly  stood  upon 
it.  Both  these  mounds  were  unsuccessfully  dug  into  by  us. 

The  fourth  mound  of  the  circular  group  has  a height  of  15  feet.  NNE.  and 
SSW.  its  diameter  of  base  is  149  feet;  ESE.  and  WNW.  it  is  128  feet.  The 
diameters  of  the  summit-plateau,  respectively,  in  the  same  directions  are  39  feet 
and  59  feet.  This  mound,  however,  has  been  under  cultivation  practically  over  its 
entire  surface,  and  a narrow  spur,  protected  from  the  plow  by  a tree,  projects  from 
a corner  of  the  summit-plateau  a distance  of  13  feet,  thus  showing  that  the  plateau 

1 “Certain  Mounds  of  Arkansas  and  of  Mississippi,”  Fig.  19.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Pliila,, 
Yol.  XIII. 


382 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


has  been  worked  away  through  cultivation  by  at  least  that  number  of  feet  on  one 
side. 

Although,  as  the  reader  is  aware,  digging  into  the  flat  tops  of  domiciliary 
mounds  is  seldom  productive  of  positive  result,  occasionalljr  burials  are  found  in 
these  plateaus  or  in  parts  of  them. 

Trial-holes  in  the  summit-plateau  of  the  mound  in  question  came  upon  several 
vessels  of  earthenware,  all  near  the  surface.  Consequently  it  was  decided  to  dig 
completely  through  that  part  of  the  plateau  (about  three-quarters  of  its  present 
area)  where  indications  of  graves  were  found. 

Human  remains  were  encountered  but  twice  and  consisted  of  some  crumbling 
teeth  of  a child,  1.5  feet  down,  and  the  left  humerus  of  an  adult,  2 feet  below  the 
surface.  In  both  instances  these  remains  were  accompanied  with  deposits  of  pot- 
tery, extending  some  distance  from  them,  and  evidently  were  all  that  was  left  of 
entire  burials. 

In  other  instances  artifacts  were  present,  singly  and  in  groups,  where  no  burials 
were  apparent,  though  beyond  question  they  had  been  present  but  had  disappeared 
through  decay. 

There  came  from  this  mound,  in  addition  to  vessels  of  earthenware  : several 
polished  pebbles,  evidently  smoothing-stones  for  pottery;  a discoidal  stone  roughly 
shaped  from  a pebble;  a flat  pebble  chipped  toward  one  end,  on  two  opposite  sides, 
probably  to  facilitate  attachment  to  a handle;  a small  quantity  of  powdered  hema- 
tite used  for  paint,  of  which  Dr.  H.  F.  Keller  says  it  “is  an  impure,  ferruginous 
clay.  It  is  very  red  on  the  outside,  but  yields  a red-brown  powder  on  grinding 
which  turns  brick-red  on  ignition.  It  contains  72.5%  silica,  showing  that  the  clay 
is  mixed  with  considerable  sand.” 

Associated  with  pottery,  and  lying  side  by  side,  were  two  cylinders  of  yellow 
clay  material,  crumbling  and  in  many  fragments,  varying  from  .8  to  1.1  inch  in 
diameter.  These  cylinders  had  been  decorated  with  longitudinal  parallel  lines, 
placed  near  together.  It  seems  as  if  possibly  the  cylinders  had  been  compressed 
in  molds,  as  a small  longitudinal  ridge  is  evident  on  one  side.  We  were  unable  to 
determine  the  length  of  these  cylinders,  which  fell  into  many  fragments  on  removal, 
but  the  deposit,  as  it  lay  in  the  ground,  was  15  inches  in  length.  We  could  not 
learn  if  this  was  the  length  of  a single  cylinder  or  included  part  of  one  pro- 
jecting beyond  the  other.  Each  of  these  cylinders  possessed  one  rounded  end 
which  came  from  opposite  extremities  of  the  deposit.  The  character  of  the  end 
opposite  the  rounded  one  we  were  unable  to  determine,  though  we  think  it  likely 
that  the  objects  had  been  what  is  known  as  spade-shaped  implements  and  that  their 
upper  parts  had  crumbled  away. 

Thirty-five  vessels  of  earthenware  were  scored  by  us  as  coming  from  this 
mound,  though  the  count  was  of  necessity  imperfect  as  only  two  whole  vessels  were 
encountered,  the  surface  of  the  mound  having  been  dug  into  and  ploughed  in  a way 
to  break  most  of  the  pottery  contained  in  the  graves. 

The  ware  from  this  place  contains  little  if  any  shell  tempering.  It  is  fairly 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


OOQ 

ooo 

thin,  and,  as  a rule,  of  medium  excellence.  Various  forms  of  the  bowl  predomi- 
nate. The  principal  feature  in  connection  with  the  pottery  uncovered  from  this 
place  is  the  great  proportion  of  decorated  vessels.  In  point  of  fact,  but  one  wholly 
undecorated  vessel,  or  part  of  a vessel,  was  met  with  in  the  mound. 

With  the  exception  of  a vessel  having  a design  of  red  and  of  cream-colored 
pigments  upon  it,  all  others  from  this  mound  bear  incised  or  trailed  decoration  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent.  This  decoration  is  largely  conventional  and  often  based  on 
the  scroll,  as  is  so  frequently  the  case  with  pottery  in  the  Lower  Mississippi  region. 

The  following  vessels  from  this  place  are  deemed  worthy  of  particular  attention. 

Vessel  No.  7.  This  superb  bottle,  of  thin,  hard,  black  ware,  by  the  exactness 
of  the  spacing  and  the  freedom  shown  in  the  execution  of  the  design,  is  in  the  front 


Fig.  6. — Vessel  No.  7.  Glass,  Miss.  (Height  6 inches.) 


384 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


rank  among  vessels  from  the  Lower  Mississippi  region,  whose  aboriginal  potters, 
when  their  best  efforts  were  exerted,  excelled  all  others  in  incised  decoration,  in 
the  region  now  known  as  the  United  States.  The  regularity  of  the  lining  on  this 
vessel  and  the  evenness  of  the  cross-hatch  work  are  remarkable  (Fig.  6). 

Vessel  No.  24.  This  handsome  bottle  has  a well-executed,  incised  decoration 
clearly  shown  in  the  illustration  (Fig.  7).  The  ware  is  thin  and  hard,  and  this 
piece  may  be  considered  a good  example  of  the  better,  but  not  of  the  best,  pottery 
of  this  region. 

Vessel  No.  1.  This  vessel  (Fig.  8),  which  we  think  may  be  classed  as  a bottle, 
is  of  hard,  yellow  ware,  and  bears  an  incised  design  based  on  circles,  triangles,  and 
the  swastika. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


385 


Fig.  8. — Vessel  No.  1.  Glass,  Miss.  (Height  4.3  inches.) 


Fig.  9. — Vessel  No.  8,  Glass,  Miss.  (Height  3.5  inches,) 


49  JOURN.  A.  N.  S.  FHILA.,  VOL.  XIV. 


386 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 


Fig.  11.— Vessel  No.  18.  Glass,  Miss.  (Height  6 inches.) 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER.  387 

Vessel  No.  8.  This  vessel  of  yellow  ware  (Fig.  9)  bears  as  decoration  an 
incised  design  of  mediocre  workmanship,  based  on  scrolls  and  circles. 

Vessel  No.  20.  A bowl  of  excellent  brown  ware  tempered  with  material  other 
than  shell,  belongs  to  a class  representatives  of  which  were  found  by  ns  in  the  Neb- 
lett  Landing  Mound,  Miss.,  which  will  be  described  later  in  this  report.  The  type 
of  vessel  referred  to  consists  of  an  inverted,  truncated  cone,  the  sides  being  in 
various  degrees  of  expansion.  In  this  particular  case  the  bowl,  with  a circular,  Hat 
base  about  3.5  inches  in  diameter,  has  a height  of  only  3.1  inches,  while  the  diame- 
ter of  the  vessel  itself  is  11.1  inches,  so  that  the  expansion  is  marked. 

Vessel  No.  12.  A bottle  7.2  inches  in  height,  with  globular  body  and  short, 
slender  neck  constricted  below  the  opening,  which  is  flaring.  The  decoration  in 
white  and  brick-colored  pigments  has  been  executed  with  considerable  care  and  con- 
sists of  partly  interlocked  scrolls  of  white  and  of  red  around  the  body,  and  a red 
triangle  at  the  flat  base.  The  neck  has  a uniform  coating  of  red.  This  bottle,  the 


Fig.  12. — Vessel  No.  36.  Glass,  Miss  (Height  of  pot  4.7  inches.) 


388 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


pigment  of  which  is  in  excellent  condition,  is  especially  interesting  in  that  it  comes 
from  a site  in  the  Lower  Mississippi  valley,  in  which  region  polychrome  decoration 
on  earthenware  is  exceptional. 

Vessel  No.  6.  A bowl  of  yellow  ware  (Fig.  10)  having  an  incised  decoration 
of  crescentic  figures. 

Vessel  No.  18.  A bottle  of  yellow  ware  (Fig.  11),  from  which,  unfortunately, 
the  upper  part  of  the  neck  has  been  ploughed  away.  Around  the  body  is  a band 
in  relief.  The  incised  decoration,  which  is  rather  faint,  is  based  on  the  swastika, 
with  curious,  trefoil  figures  in  addition. 

Various  slight  rises  of  the  ground  in  different  parts  of  this  plantation,  on  which 
were  a few  scattered  signs  of  aboriginal  occupancy,  were  investigated  by  us  but 
without  success.  Probably  places  of  burial  at  these  sites  had  been  destroyed  in  the 
course  of  long  cultivation  of  the  soil. 

There  were  presented  to  us  here  fragments  of  a vessel  which  we  were  told  had 
washed  from  a bank.  This  vessel  (Fig.  1^)  is  of  very  coarse,  shell-tempered  ware, 
and  entirely  unlike  that  found  by  us  in  the  mound.  On  each  of  two  opposite  sides 
of  the  vessel  is  modeled  in  relief  a long-bodied  quadruped  somewhat  similar  to  the 
lizard-like  figures  present  on  a vessel  found  at  Madisonville,  Ohio,  and  figured  by 
Professor  Holmes.1 

On  the  modeled  figures  on  our  vessel,  however,  ears  are  represented,  which 
feature  presumably  takes  these  figures  out  of  the  reptilian  class.  An  opening  for 
suspension  is  present  between  the  body  of  each  animal  and  the  side  of  the  vessel. 

Blum  Mounds,  Washington  County,  Miss. 

This  noble  group  of  mounds  at  Winterville,  near  Greenville,  Miss.,  explored 
and  surveyed  by  us  during  a previous  visit,  is  fully  described  in  our  “Certain 
Mounds  of  Arkansas  and  of  Mississippi.”  2 

Site  at  Shadyside  Landing,  Washington  County',  Miss. 

Near  Shadyside  Landing  are  three  mounds  which  would  be  in  full  view  from 
the  river  but  for  the  presence  of  trees.  Near  these  mounds  are  various  small  ridges 
and  flat  elevations  which  evidently,  in  the  past,  were  aboriginal  dwelling-sites, 
though  much  of  their  superficial  parts  apparently  had  disappeared  through  Yvork, 
wear,  and  wash. 

We  are  indebted  for  permission  to  examine  this  site  to  Mr.  J.  H.  Leavenworth 
of  Greenville,  Miss.,  its  owner. 

The  mound  nearest  the  landing,  of  irregularly  circular  outline,  with  basal 
diameter  of  166  feet,  has  a height  of  about  13  feet.  Trial-holes  sunk  into  its 
summit-plateau  yielded  no  return. 

In  full  view  from  this  mound  is  another,  somewhat  larger  but  much  spread, 
and  evidently  considerably  reduced  in  height  through  wash  of  rain  and  trampling 

1 Twentieth  An.  Rep.  Bur.  Am.  Ethn.,  PI.  CLXIIIa. 

2 Part  III.  “The  Blum  Mounds.”  Journ.  Acad.  Nat,  Sci.,  Phila.,  Yol.  XIII. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


389 


A short  distance  in  a northwesterly  direction  from  the  mound  nearest  the 
river  is  a small,  flat  rise  in  the  ground,  on  which  were  some  fragments  of  pottery 
and  other  debris.  This  area  was  fairly  riddled  with  our  trial-holes,  which  showed 
that  burials  had  been  put  down  from  a higher  level,  but  that  most  of  them  were 
near  the  surface  owing  to  the  amount  of  material  which  had  been  ploughed  and 
washed  from  that  part  of  the  site. 

There  were  found  here  fifteen  burials,  as  follows  : 

Adults  at  full  length  on  the  back,  including  two  adolescents  13 
Adult,  aboriginal  disturbance  ......  1 

Bunched  burial,  consisting  of  the  bones  of  three  adults 

and  of  one  adolescent  ......  1 

With  the  bunched  burial  were  the  crumbling  remains  of  a small  earthenware 
vessel. 


of  feet.  In  fact  a house  built  upon  the  mound,  resting  on  supports,  has  beneath  it 
a part  of  the  mound  about  2 feet  higher  than  the  rest  of  its  surface  which  has  been 
washed  and  worn  away  while  the  portion  under  the  house  has  been  protected.  In 
Fig.  13  is  shown  this  house  under  which  may  be  seen  the  ground  rising  as  described. 

Within  a few  feet  of  this  mound  is  the  third  one,  having  a circular  base  about 
95  feet  across.  The  height  is  7.5  feet.  Our  digging  in  this  mound  was  not  rewarded. 


Fig.  13. — House  on  mound  at  Shadyside  Landing,  Miss.,  showing  part  of  mound  under  the  house,  protected  from  wash  of 
rain,  aud  illustrating  the  erosion  to  which  mounds  sometimes  are  subjected. 


390 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


A few  feet  east  of  the  ridge  we  have  described  was  another  or  perhaps  an  ex- 
tension of  the  mound.  The  surface  of  this  ridge  was  covered  with  fragments  of 
pottery,  and  bits  of  human  hone  were  plentiful  on  it. 

This  ridge  or  extension  was  thoroughly  investigated  by  us,  but  unfortunately 
it  became  evident  that  nearly  all  the  made  ground  which  had  formed  during  abo- 
riginal occupancy  had  been  worked  or  washed  away,  as  but  two  burials  were  found — 
one  a bunch  having  a single  adult  skull ; the  other,  a burial  of  the  same  class  with 
ten  skulls,  three  of  which  had  belonged  to  children.  The  upper  part  of  this  burial 
was  visible  on  the  surface,  while  none  of  it  lay  more  than  one  foot  deep. 

With  the  latter  burial  were  three  vessels  of  earthenware  : one  of  medium  size, 
having  a body  with  four  lobes,  without  decoration  ; another  badly  crushed,  on  which 

were  two  encircling  incised  lines;  a 
third  (Fig.  14)  having  a round  open- 
ing and  a square,  flat  base  on  which 
are  a number  of  concentric,  incised 
squares.  The  body  of  the  vessel  has 
incised,  encircling  lines,  containing 
diagonal  ones. 

With  this  burial  also  were  part 
of  a small  celt  of  fine-grained  sand- 
stone,  and,  dangerously  near  the  sur- 
face, a fine  pipe  of  limestone  (Plate 
XXIX).  representing  a human  figure 
on  hands  and  knees.  The  pipe  lay 
on  its  side  directly  beneath  the  bones, 
which  had  somewhat  disintegrated 
the  parts  of  the  pipe  in  contact  with 
them.  Both  sides  of  this  pipe  are 
shown  in  the  plate,  the  one  injured  by 
the  bones  being  easily  distinguishable. 

On  the  surface,  near  this  burial,  was  a small,  barbed  arrowhead  of  white  flint. 
The  barbed  type  of  projectile  point  was  very  rarely  found  by  us  on  the  Mississippi 
north  of  this  place,  the  leaf-shaped  point  usually  being  met  with. 

Scattered  in  the  soil  were  found,  apart  from  burials,  in  the  Shadyside  Landing 
site:  two  small,  rude  celts;  a pebble  shaped  somewhat  to  resemble  a celt;  another 
pebble  showing  a slight  amount  of  workmanship,  and  grooved  at  one  end  to  serve 
as  a pendant;  a pebble  probably  of  igneous  rock,  with  an  artificial  semi-perforation 
at  one  end ; part  of  an  antler  5.5  inches  in  length,  squarely  severed  and  with  a con- 
siderable hollowing  out  of  the  proximal  end;  a number  of  small  chisels  chipped 
from  flint  pebbles,  which  differ  from  chisels  of  the  same  material  found  farther  north 
on  the  river  in  that  these  are  chipped  but  not  ground  at  the  edges  which,  more- 
over, are  flaring. 


Fig.  14. — Vessel  No.  3.  Shadyside  Landing,  Miss. 
(Height  3.5  inches.) 


JOURN.  ACAD.  NAT.  SCI.  PHILAD.,  2ND  SER.,  VOL.  XIV. 


PLATE  XXIX. 


SHADYSIDE  LANDING,  MISSISSIPPI,  PIPE  OF  LIMESTONE,  (about  full  size.) 


Cockayne,  Boston. 


If 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


391 


All  other  ridges  and  rises  at  this  interesting  place  were  carefully  dug  into  by 
us,  but  while  it  was  evident  they  were  of  artificial  origin,  it  was  also  apparent  that 
the  parts  in  which  burials  probably  had  been,  had  washed  or  worn  away. 

Site  at  Richland,  Desha  County,  Ark. 

Richland,  a settlement  belonging  to  the  Price,  Ledbetter  Land  Company,  of 
Richland,  includes  the  De  Soto  Plantation.  About  one  mile  north  of  Richland,  in 
woods,  on  property  belonging  to  the  Company,  is  a large,  flat-topped  mound  which 
has  been  extensively  used  for  burials  in  recent  times. 

One  of  the  houses  on  the  main  road  in  Richland,  on  the  De  Soto  Plantation, 
stands  upon  a low,  much-spread  mound.  On  one  side  of  this  house  seven  trial- 
holes  were  put  down,  all  of  which  reached  burials.  In  removing  these  burials 
others  were  found,  making  a total  of  eighteen,  none  at  a depth  greater  than  3 feet. 
The  bunched  burial  was  not  represented,  all  being  individual  burials,  some  extended 
on  the  back,  some  flexed.  All  were  of  adults  except  one  of  an  adolescent  and  one 
of  a child.  Two  of  the  burials,  lying  side  by  side,  had  lost  heads  and  shoulders  by 
the  digging  of  a hole  some  time  in  the  past. 

At  the  legs  of  one  burial  were  a few  small,  shell  beads,  and  some  powdered 
hematite  was  near  the  skull  of  another.  Near  the  feet  of  an  extended  burial  was 
an  undecorated  vessel  of  moderate  size,  cylindrical,  with  slightly  flaring  rim  and  a 
base  moderately  convex. 

Although  doubtless  the  mound  contained  a great  number  of  interments,  we 
felt  disinclined  to  continue  its  exploration,  especially  as  the  position  of  the  house 
and  out-buildings  upon  it  precluded  all  idea  of  its  complete  demolition. 

Within  a short  distance  of  the  mound  just  described  is  an  almost  imperceptible 
rise  in  the  ground,  of  limited  extent,  the  soil  rather  dark  in  shade  and  having  on 
the  surface  numerous  fragments  of  pottery.  Investigation  of  this  site,  however, 
indicated  that  it  had  not  been  used  for  burial  purposes. 

Mound  near  Neblett  Landing,  Bolivar  County,  Miss. 

Back  of  Neblett  Landing  is  the  old  Neblett  Place,  now  known  as  Virginia 
Plantation,  the  property  of  Mr.  Charles  Scott  of  Rosedale,  Miss. 

About  two  miles  in  a NE.  by  E.  direction  from  the  landing  there  is  on  this 
plantation  a mound  about  7 feet  in  height.  It  is  nearly  square  and  has  a summit- 
plateau.  The  entire  mound  has  been  under  cultivation  that  has  rounded  its  cor- 
ners and  extended  its  diameter,  which,  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  was  about  125  feet. 
Trees  on  the  side  of  this  mound  show  it  to  have  suffered  extensive  wash  of  rain, 
the  roots  of  one  tree  being  exposed  for  2.5  feet  above  the  present  surface.  The 
mound,  however,  presumably,  has  suffered  more  extensively  from  wash  of  water  on 
the  sides  than  on  the  level  top.  Nevertheless,  it  was  evident  that  the  plateau  also 
had  suffered  to  a considerable  extent,  as  fragments  of  pottery  and  of  human  bones 
lay  on  it  in  numbers  at  the  time  when  our  work  was  undertaken.  Moreover,  some 
burials  were  found  partly  uncovered  by  the  plow,  and  presumably  many  more  had 
been  totally  destroyed. 


392 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


In  shape  this  mound  has  every  appearance  of  having  been  a domiciliary  one, 
and  our  digging  in  it,  which  lasted  two  and  one-half  days,  with  seven  men,  con- 
firmed this  view,  for  while  the  mound  contained  many  burials  in  the  summit-plateau 
and  part-way  down  the  sides,  it  was  evident  that  these  had  not  been  made  during 
the  building  of  the  mound,  but  had  been  sunk  from  the  surface,  after  its  completion. 

The  mound  was  composed  largely  of  raw  clay  material,  some  parts  of  it  having 
more  sand  than  others.  The  graves,  none  deeper  than  3 feet,  which  was  an  excep- 
tional depth,  had  been  dug  into  this  material,  which  had  a distinctive  color,  making 
it  easy  to  define  the  limits  of  the  graves  from  the  surface  down  on  account  of  the 
presence  in  them  of  the  dark  village-site  material  from  the  outer  parts  of  the  mound. 
Presumably,  then,  a domiciliary  mound  had  been  utilized  superficially  as  a place  of 
burial. 

Sixty-five  burials  came  from  this  mound,  of  which  forty-four  were  bunched 
burials.  Three  of  these  latter  were  noteworthy  in  that,  instead  of  having  the  long- 
bones  in  layers  or  in  piles  horizontally,  they  were  arranged  almost  vertically  in  the 
ground. 

The  bunched  burials,  in  regard  to  the  number  of  skulls  found  with  each  of 
them,  were  as  follows,  the  skulls  having  belonged  to  adults,  when  not  otherwise 
described  : 

Without  a skull,  1 

With  a single  skull,  one  being  of  an  adolescent  and  one  of  a child,  20 
With  two  skulls,  four  having  each  the  skull  of  a child  and  one  that  of  an 
adolescent,  14 

With  three  skulls,  including  the  skull  of  an  adolescent,  2 

With  five  skulls:  four  adult  skulls  and  one  of  an  adolescent;  four  adult  skulls 
and  one  of  a child;  three  adult  skulls,  one  of  an  adolescent,  and  one  of  a child,  3 
With  six  skulls,  one  being  that  of  a child,  1 
With  seven  skulls,  including  one  of  a child,  1 
With  eight  skulls,  two  being  of  children,  1 

With  twelve  skulls,  including  two  of  children  and  one  of  an  adolescent,  1 
The  remainder  of  the  burials  were  : 

Adults  at  full  length  on  the  back,  16 
Children,  3 

Recent  disturbances,  2 

The  bones  at  this  place  were  badly  decayed,  none  being  in  a condition  for 
preservation. 

In  connection  with  eight  burials — five  bunched  burials  and  three  extended 
ones — bark  was  present,  usually  below  the  burial,  but  exceptionally,  above  it. 
Presumably,  however,  other  burials  in  the  mound  had  been  accompanied  with  bark, 
which  had  disappeared  through  decay. 

The  only  objects,  except  earthenware  vessels,  found  in  the  soil  apart  from 
burials,  were  a pebble-hammer  and  a piercing  implement  of  bone. 

Singularly  few  artifacts,  except  earthenware,  had  been  placed  with  burials  in 
this  mound.  A bunched  burial  which  included  the  bones  of  a child,  had  a pebble 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


393 


rudely  fashioned  to  form  a discoidal  stone.  With  a bunched  burial  lay  a flat  pebble 
perforated  at  one  end.  Pebbles  thus  treated  are  not  often  met  with.  One,  similar 
to  that  from  this  place,  was  unearthed  by  us  in  the  site  at  Avenue,  Ark.,  and  will 
be  referred  to  later  in  this  report,  while  three  other  perforated  pebbles  were  found 
by  us  on  the  lower  Arkansas  river,  and  one  at  the  Forrest  Place,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  St.  Francis  river,  Ark. 

Ninety-one  vessels  of  earthenware  lay  with  burials  in  this  mound  and  six 
vessels  were  found  apart  from  them. 

The  bunched  burials  at  this  place  had  their  full  share  of  earthenware  vessels, 
the  deposits  with  some  of  the  larger  burials  being  greater  than  those  with 
smaller  ones. 

Burial  No.  17,  a bunched  burial,  consisting  of  six  skulls  of  adults  and  one  of  a 
child,  lay  upon  bark,  and  had  with  it  thirteen  vessels,  an  interesting  feature  being 
that  some  of  these  are  diminutive  and  evidently  had  been  placed  with  the  burial  on 
account  of  the  child  included  with  it. 

Burial  No.  33,  a bunch  in  which  were  eight  skulls,  two  of  them  having 
belonged  to  children,  was  accompanied  with  eight  vessels,  and  here  again  toy  ves- 
sels intended  for  children  were  present. 

Of  the  ninety-seven  vessels  from  the  Neblett  Landing  mound,  twenty-four  were 
unbroken  or  nearly  so,  most  of  the  remainder  being  badly  crushed. 

The  ware  from  this  mound  is  not  of  the  best,  and  no  vessel  shows  a polished 
surface.  A few  of  the  vessels  exhibit  fairly  graceful  modeling  and  some  diversity  of 
form,  though,  curiously  enough,  the  bottle  is  present  in  but  few  instances.  A favorite 
form  of  vessel  at  this  place  is  one  somewhat  resembling  an  inverted,  truncated  cone, 
which  is  represented  among  the  vessels  found  no  fewer  than  thirty-seven  times, 
with  various  modifications,  of  course,  including  a considerable  expansion  of  the  body. 

Decoration  is  a marked  feature  of  the  pottery  from  the  Neblett  Landing  mound, 
only  nine  of  the  ninety-seven  vessels  found  being  entirely  without  it,  though  in 
some  instances  the  decoration  present  is  scanty  enough,  being  only  a single,  incised 
encircling  line,  or  a line  arranged  in  festoons. 

The  decoration  in  the  main  consists  of  line-work, — engraved,  incised  or  trailed, 
— fairly  well  executed  in  some  instances,  but  much  of  it  of  mediocre  or  inferior 
workmanship,  as  is  the  case  in  nearly  all  sites  where  this  kind  of  decoration  on 
pottery  is  employed.  There  is  great  repetition  of  design  on  the  ware,  the  partly 
interlocked  scroll,  the  current  scroll,  the  spiral,  festooned  lines,  loops  surrounding 
circles  (some  of  these  in  connection  with  rude  cross-hatch  work),  all  doing  yoeman 
service  as  they  are  so  often  called  upon  to  do  in  connection  with  incised  decoration 
on  aboriginal  pottery  in  certain  regions. 

Decoration  in  color  is  present  on  but  two  vessels  from  this  place — a design  in 
red  and  white  in  each  instance.  On  the  whole,  the  earthenware  of  the  Neblett 
Landing  site  is  interesting,  as  this  site  is  the  northernmost  one  investigated  by  us 
on  the  Mississippi  river  where  line  decoration  is  a feature,  though  line  decoration, 
as  we  have  already  said,  is  often  present  on  aboriginal  pottery  from  sites  on  the 
Arkansas  river,  which  enters  the  Mississippi  only  a few  miles  above  Neblett  Landing. 

50  JOURN.  A.  X.  S.  PHILA.,  VOL.  XIV. 


394 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


We  shall  now  take  up  the  description  of  certain  of  the  more  interesting  vessels 
from  this  place. 

Vessel  No.  56.  This  vessel  (Fig.  15)  is  a shallow  bowl  in  the  form  of  a shell, 
the  hinge  of  which,  in  all  its  details,  is  carefully  and  accurately  reproduced.  The 


Fig.  15. — Vessel  No.  56.  Neblett  Landing,  Miss.  (Diam.  11.2  inches.) 


model  taken  by  the  aboriginal  potter,  according  to  Doctor  Pilsbry,  was  probably  the 
fresh-water  mussel  ( Unio  pinparaius).  The  outline  of  this  shell,  however,  as 
Doctor  Pilsbry  points  out,  is  elliptical,  while  that  of  the  bowl  is  round.  It  is  quite 
possible,  nevertheless,  that  the  outline  of  the  vessel  was  modified  to  suit  the  needs 
of  a bowl.  The  decoration  on  this  vessel  has  been  a coating  of  cherry-colored  pig- 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


395 


ment  on  the  inside,  now  partly  worn  away,  and  on  the  outside  a well-preserved 
design,  hour-glass  in  shape,  perhaps  current  scrolls  united,  in  white  pigment  on  a 
background  of  cherry.  Both  colors  are  remarkably  well  preserved.  In  this  vessel 
we  see  polychrome  decoration  south  of  the  Arkansas  river,  but  a very  short  dis- 
tance south  of  it,  it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind. 


Fig.  16. — Vessel  No.  28.  Neblett  Landing,  Miss.  (Diam.  8.3  inches.) 


Vessel  No.  28.  This  bowl  (Fig.  16)  bears  by  way  of  decoration  on  the  inside 
a circle  of  solid  red  pigment  from  which  extend  four  arms  in  red,  forming  a cross. 
The  background  is  pigment  of  cream  color.  The  exterior  decoration  is  a cross  of 
cream  color  with  arms  expanding  somewhat  toward  the  extremities,  and  having  a 
background  of  red. 


396 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Vessel  No.  22.  This  interesting  vessel  of  the  well-known  “teapot”  variety 
(Fig.  17),  which  will  be  discussed  more  fully  in  this  report  in  our  account  of  the 


Fig.  17. — Vessel  No.  22.  Neblett  Lauding,  Miss.  (Height  5.9  inches.) 


Fig.  18. — Vessel  No.  5.  Neblett  Landing,  Miss.  (Height  4 inches.) 


site  at  Avenue,  is  to  a certain 
extent  a variant  from  the  usual 
“ teapot”  vessel  in  that  a mod- 
eled frog  surrounds  the  neck. 
There  has  been  restoration  of 
one  leg  of  this  modeled  figure, 
which,  however,  does  not  show 
in  the  illustration. 

Vessel  No.  5.  We  have 
here  a vessel  of  compound  form 
representing  a circular  bowl  set 
on  a kind  of  saucer.  The  in- 
cised decoration  is  based  mainly 
on  the  scroll.  There  is  a single 
hole  for  suspension,  on  two  op- 
posite sides  (Fig.  18). 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


397 


Fig.  SO. — Vessel  No.  90.  Neblett  Landing,  Miss.  (Diam.  6 inches.) 

Vessel  No.  90.  A bowl  of  the  same  type  as  the  preceding  vessel  as  to  form, 
but  having  a graceful  finish  to  the  margin,  as  shown  in  Fig,  20. 


Fig.  19. — Vessel  No.  71.  Neblett  Landing,  Miss.  (Diam.  8.3  inches.) 


Vessel  No.  71.  This  bowl,  of  the  form  prevailing  in  the  Neblett  Landing  site, 
bears  on  the  body  an  incised  design  consisting  of  a well-known  combination  where 
a current  scroll  has  each  of  its  loops  arranged  to  include  a circle  (Fig.  19). 


398 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Vessel  No.  96.  This  bowl,  a life-form  representing  a shell,  is  similar  to  ves- 
sels found  to  the  northward  in  the  Middle  Mississippi  region,  where,  however,  they 
are  usually  without  decoration.  But  this  vessel,  being  from  a region  where  incised 
decoration  was  in  vogue,  has  on  the  outside  a design  based  on  the  swastika,  and  on 
the  front,  upper  part,  within  (though  it  does  not  show  in  the  illustration),  an  incised 
band  filled  in  with  crossed,  diagonal  lines  (Fig.  21). 


Fig.  21. — Vessel  jSTo.  96.  Neblett  Landing,  Miss.  (Height  3.3  inches.) 


Vessel  No.  19.  This  vessel,  also  representing  a shell,  resembles  in  form  the 
bowl  just  described  and  on  the  inside  is  similarly  decorated.  On  the  outside,  in 
front,  incised  scrolls  extend  around  circles,  while  behind  are  two  bands  with  crossed, 
diagonal  lines,  similar  to  the  single  band  in  front.  Height  4.2  inches. 

Vessel  No.  55.  A bottle  of  inferior  ware,  having  projecting  from  one  side  a 
tail,  and  from  the  other  side  the  head  of  a bird  or  of  a quadruped,  from  which  the 
bill  or  nose  is  missing  through  breakage  prior  to  interment.  On  two  sides  of  the 
bottle  are  rude,  incised  designs,  possibly  representing  wings  (Fig.  22). 

Vessel  No.  52.  This  bottle,  of  light  brown  ware,  bears  on  the  body  an  incised 
decoration  composed  of  the  circle  and  the  scroll  (Fig.  23). 

Vessel  No.  69.  There  is  shown  in  Fig.  24  an  inverted  bowl  of  light  brown 
ware,  which  is  undecorated  on  the  inside,  but  bears  on  the  exterior  a well  executed 
trailed  design  based  on  the  scroll. 

In  sight  of  the  mound  just  described  is  another,  considerably  larger,  the  surface 
of  which  apparently  has  not  been  under  cultivation.  It  is  said  that  this  mound 
has  been  used  largely  for  burial  purposes  in  comparatively  recent  times,  and 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER.  399 


Fig.  22. — Vessel  No.  55.  Neblett  Landing,  Miss.  (Height  4.1  inches.) 

evidence  of  this  in  the  shape  of  headboards  marking  graves  is  still  apparent  on  one 
part  of  the  mound.  A number  of  trial-holes  sunk  in  the  summit-plateau  of  this 
mound  were  unproductive. 


Fig.  23. — Vessel  No.  52.  Neblett  Landing,  Miss.  (Height  3.6  inches.) 


400 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Between  the  two  mounds  was  level  ground  which  had  been  long  under  culti- 
vation. On  the  surface  were  scattered  some  debris  from  aboriginal  sites  and  a few 
fragments  of  human  bone.  A considerable  number  of  trial-holes  in  this  ground 
came  upon  three  burials,  with  one  of  which  was  an  inferior  vessel  of  earthenware. 


Fig.  24. — Vessel  No.  69.  Neblett  Landing,  Miss.  (Diam.  6.5  inches.) 


Here  ends  the  description  of  our  work  in  the  Lower  Mississippi  region.  The 
next  site  to  be  considered  lies  north  of  the  Arkansas  river  and  consequently  in  the 
Middle  Mississippi  valley. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


401 


Site  at  Avenue,  Phillips  County,  Ark. 

At  the  settlement  of  Avenue  is  a plantation  belonging  to  Mr.  R.  B.  Coalder, 
who  resides  at  Avenue. 

On  this  plantation,  in  full  view  from  the  road,  is  a much-spread  mound  on 
which  are  a frame  building  and  a number  of  out-houses.  This  mound,  no  doubt, 
was  the  domiciliary  high  place  of  the  site. 

About  one-quarter  mile  in  a SSW.  direction  from  this  mound,  still  on  the  prop- 
erty of  Mr.  Goalder,  is  a ridge  about  120  feet  by  240  feet,  and  from  2 to  6 feet  in 
height,  depending  on  that  part  of  the  surrounding  area  (which  is  far  from  level) 
whence  the  altitude  is  taken. 

Here  and  there  on  the  surface  of  this  ridge,  which  we  were  told  had  been 
under  cultivation  about  six  years,  bits  of  flint  pebbles,  fragments  of  pottery,  burnt 
clay,  and  particles  of  human  bone  were  observed. 

A few  yards  westerly  from  this  ridge  is  another,  about  125  feet  by  95  feet  and 
approximately  3 feet  in  height,  which  had  almost  contiguous  another  ridge  85  feet 
by  70  feet  and  about  2 feet  in  height.  These  two  ridges  are  on  a plantation  belong- 
ing to  Mr.  A.  Martin  of  Henrico,  Ark.,  and  are  said  to  have  been  under  cultivation 
for  two  seasons  only.  At  the  time  of  our  visit  trunks  of  trees  were  still  standing 
in  the  held  in  which  these  ridges  were.  On  the  larger  of  these  two  ridges  were  a 
few  fragments  of  human  bones  and  indications  of  aboriginal  occupancy  in  the  past, 
but  the  smaller  site  had  no  superficial  debris. 

Three  days,  with  seven  men  to  dig,  were  spent  by  us  in  the  investigation  of 
the  three  ridges  mentioned,  which  were  composed  of  clay  so  tenacious  that  the 
sounding-rod  was  of  little  avail  and  trial-holes  only  were  of  service. 

Burials  and  artifacts  were  encountered  in  the  two  larger  ridges  only,  the  burials 
being  sixty-two  in  number,  all  in  graves  extending  from  the  surface  down,  none  to 
a depth  greater  than  2 feet.  Some  burials  already  had  been  disturbed  by  cultiva- 
tion, and  it  was  evident  that  in  a few  years  more  the  plow  would  have  destroyed 
the  majority  of  them. 

The  burials  were  as  follows  : 

Adults  at  full  length  on  the  back,  3 
Adults  partly  tlexed  on  the  right  side,  9 
Adults  partly  flexed  on  the  left  side,  2 
Adult  closely  flexed  on  the  left  side,  1 

Adult  extended  on  the  back  to  the  knees,  with  the  legs  closely  flexed  on  the 
thighs,  1 

A lone  skull,  1 

Recent  disturbances,  of  considerable  extent,  3 
Infants  or  children,  3 
Bunched  burials,  39 

'Idle  bunched  burials,  in  layers  or  [tiles  of  bones,  sometimes  without  skulls, 
sometimes  with  a number  of  them,  were  not  determined  as  to  the  exact  number  of 

51  JOURN.  A.  N.  S.  PHILA.,  VOL.  XIV. 


402 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


complete  skeletons  present,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  such  determination  were  possible  in 
the  badly  decayed  condition  in  which  the  bones  were  found. 

The  bunches,  with  the  number  of  skulls  with  each  (the  skulls  being  of  adults 
when  not  otherwise  described),  were  as  follows: 

Bunches  without  skulls,  6 

Bunches  with  one  skull  each,  9 

Bunches  with  two  skulls  each,  including  one  bunch  having  one  skull  of  a 
child,  11 

Bunches  with  three  skulls  each,  including  one  bunch  with  a child’s  skull,  G 

Bunches  with  four  skulls  each,  including  one  bunch  having  a skull  of  a child,  4 

Bunches  with  six  skulls  each,  including  three  skulls  of  children  in  one  bunch,  2 

Bunch  with  seven  skulls,  1 

The  last  mentioned  burial  had  about  8 inches  above  it  a few  bits  of  calcined 
human  remains. 

On  the  surface  of  this  site  were  no  entire  artifacts,  and  in  the  soil,  apart  from 
burials  (with  the  exception  of  pottery)  nothing  was  found  save  a single  chisel 
wrought  from  a flint  pebble. 

But  three  burials  at  this  place  were  accompanied  with  artifacts  other  than 
pottery. 

Burial  No.  6,  a bunch,  had  in  addition  to  a bottle  and  two  bowls,  two  long  pins 
or  piercing  implements  of  bone. 

Burial  No.  33,  a bunched  burial,  had  near  it  a flat  pebble,  oval  in  outline, 
about  2 inches  loner  and  1.5  inch  in  maximum  diameter.  Near  the  margin  of  the 
broader  part  is  a perforation  for  suspension.  We  have  referred  to  perforated  peb- 
bles of  this  kind  in  our  account  of  the  site  at  Neblett  Landing,  in  this  report. 

Burial  No.  48,  a bunched  burial,  had  two  bottles  and  some  red  oxide  of  iron 
ground  for  use  as  pigment. 

Seventy-five  earthenware  vessels  (one  of  which  was  apart  from  human  remains) 
came  from  the  site  at  Avenue,  the  vessels  being  with  the  bunched  burials  as  fre- 
quently as  with  the  single  skeletons,  though  some  burials  of  both  classes  were  with- 
out pottery.  Vessels  in  some  instances  lay  one  within  the  other,  and  occasionally 
small,  inverted  bowls  covered  the  openings  of  bottles. 

As  a rule,  in  most  sites  in  the  Middle  Mississippi  region,  where  pottery  is  pres- 
ent, and  in  regions  to  the  southward  also,  though  perhaps  to  a less  extent,  mussel- 
shells  ( Unio ) are  often  found  in  vessels,  on  them,  or  near  them.  These  shells  were 
used  as  spoons.  No  such  shells  were  present  with  any  vessel  at  Avenue. 

The  ware  from  this  place  is  thin,  as  a rule,  and  often  of  the  yellow,  porous 
kind  so  adaptable  to  decoration  with  pigment.  This  class  of  decoration  is  present 
in  seventeen  instances  on  the  pottery  found  at  Avenue  by  us,  thirteen  being  uniform 
coatings  of  red,  while  in  four  cases  red  appears  in  connection  with  white  or  cream- 
colored  paint. 

Many  undecorated  vessels  of  this  soft,  yellow  ware,  in  addition  to  the  painted 
ware,  and  a few  vessels  of  dark  material  but  ill-fired,  were  in  a friable  condition 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 


403 


Fig.  25. — Vessel  Vo.  20.  Avenue,  Ark.  (Length  of  body  8.9  inches.) 


404 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


and  badly  crushed.  Two  interesting  vessels  belonging  to  a better  class  of  this 
painted  ware  have  been  repaired,  and  later  will  be  described  in  detail. 

Among  the  vessels  found  at  this  place  were  two  bowls  with  slight,  rude,  trailed 
decoration  ; one  small  bowl  having  a series  of  rough,  single,  festooned  lines,  incised 
exteriorly  around  the  margin,  in  which  were  rude  imprints  of  a pointed  implement; 
a vessel  having  six  small  lobes;  a vessel  with  small,  pointed  knobs  near  the  rim. 

Among  the  vessels  decorated  with  red  pigment  was  one  with  a conventional 
tail  of  an  animal,  but  which  had  lost  the  head  through  breakage  in  early  times, 
and  another  with  the  modeled  head  of  a predatory  bird,  but  having  suffered  partial 
loss  of  the  caudal  appendage. 

Vessel  No.  20.  There  is  shown  in  Plate  XXX,  and  in  another  position  in  Eig. 
25,  the  most  interesting  vessel  of  the  “ teapot  ” variety  which  has  yet  come  to  our 
notice.  This  vessel,  which  possibly  represents  a tortoise  or  a turtle  (though  the 
head  is  far  from  resembling  that  seen  on  any  of  the  order  Chelonia ),  shows  the 
animal  lying  on  its  back  with  legs  extended  upward,  the  toes  of  the  hind  feet 
directed  backward  in  a manner  forcibly  indicating  the  habit  of  the  tortoise  and 
turtle  family.  The  only  other  vessel  of  the  ‘‘teapot”  variety  portraying  a life-form 
placed  upon  the  back,  that  has  come  to  our  knowledge,  is  one  found  by  us  in  the 
Rose  Mound  on  the  St.  Francis  river.  Ark.,  but  in  this  case  legs  and  feet  are  not 
represented. 

The  decoration  on  this  “teapot”  vessel  from  the  site  at  Avenue  consists  of  an 
excellent  coating  of  red  pigment  covering  the  lower  part  of  the  body.  Red  pigment 
also  is  on  the  eyes  and  on  the  upper  and  lower  part  of  the  head  and  the  under  por- 
tion of  the  tail  or  spout.  Two  circles,  one  at  the  base  of  the  tail  and  one  near  it, 
on  the  belly,  probably  representing  the  female  sexual  organ  and  the  vent,  likewise 
are  shown  in  red.  The  remainder  of  the  vessel,  except  the  base,  where  the  yellow 
ware  is  without  decoration,  has  had  a coating  of  cream-colored  pigment. 

Incidentally,  we  may  repeat  here  what  we  have  detailed  in  former  reports  to  a 
considerable  extent.  The  “teapot''  vessel,  so  far  as  the  United  States  is  concerned, 
is  found  only  in  eastern  Arkansas  and  nearby  regions,  its  centre  of  distribution 
being  the  territory  along  the  lower  Arkansas  river,  though  it  lias  been  found  north- 
ward as  far  as  the  Rose  Mound1  near  Parkin,  on  the  St.  Francis  river.  Ark.,  and 
southward  near  the  junction  of  Bayou  Bartholomew  2 with  the  Ouachita  river,  in 
northern  Louisiana,  where,  however,  probably  it  was  carried  in  trade. 

The  “teapot”  vessel  has  been  found  in  Coahoma  county,  Miss.,  but  not  far 
removed  from  the  river,3  and  Professor  Holmes  figures  a vessel  belonging  to  the 
same  class  as  coming  from  “ Mississippi.”  4 

1 Clarence  B.  Moore.  “Antiquities  of  the  St.  Francis,  White  and  Black  Rivers,  Arkansas,” 
PI.  XVIII  and  Fig.  31. 

2 Clarence  B.  Moore.  “Antiquities  of  the  Ouachita  Valle)7,”  p.  75.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci., 
Phila.,  Vol.  XIV. 

3 Charles  Peabody.  “ Exploration  of  Mounds,  Coahoma  County,  Mississippi.”  Peabody 
Museum  Papers,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  2,  PI.  XIV. 

* William  H.  Holmes.  “Aboriginal  Pottery  of  Eastern  United  States,”  p.  94,  PI.  XLb. 
Twentieth  An.  Rep.  Bur.  Am.  Ethn. 


JOURN.  ACAD.  NAT.  SCI.  PHILAD.,  2ND  SER.,  VOL.  XIV. 


AVENUE,  ARKANSAS,  VESSEL  NO.  20.  (length  of  body,  8.9  inches.) 


JOURN.  ACAD.  NAT.  SCI 


PHILAD.,  2ND  SER, 


VOL. 


XIV. 


PLATE  XXXI 


AVENUE,  ARKANSAS,  VESSEL  NO.  8. 


(HEIGHT,  4.6  INCHES.) 


Cockayne. 


Boston 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


405 


Another  vessel  of  this  class,  from  the  site  at  Neblett  Landing,  Bolivar  County, 
M iss.,  is  described  in  this  report. 

As  the  reader  probably  is  aware,  the  ordinary  variety  of  “ teapot”  vessel  has 
a sub-globular  body  with  a knob  on  one  side  and  a spout  on  the  opposite  side.  The 
variants  are  animal  forms,  the  spout  taking  the  place  of  the  tail. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  note  in  respect  to  the  “teapot”  vessel  that  this  form, 
which  almost  entirely  is  confined  to  the  State  of  Arkansas,  does  not  seem  to  be 
found  in  the  same  territory  as  the  well-known  head  vases,  which  also  are  a specialty 
of  the  same  State,  the  head  vessels  being  found  more  to  the  northward.  As  we 
shall  have  occasion  to  point  out  when  writing  of  these  vessels,  the  Rose  Mound  on 
the  St.  Francis  river,  Arkansas,  may  be  considered,  so  far  as  records  go,  the  north- 
ernmost point  where  “teapot”  vessels  have  been  found  and  the  southernmost  limit 
of  discovery  of  head  vases. 

Vessel  No.  32.  This  bottle,  10.5  inches  in  height,  found  in  seventy-two  frag- 
ments, has  been  cemented  together  and  proves  to  be  of  graceful  form,  the  body 
globular  with  a flattening  at  the  base,  the  neck  of  medium  length,  slender  and 
slightly  constricted  below  the  opening,  which  has  a decided  flare.  The  decoration, 
consisting  of  partly  interlocked  scrolls  in  red  and  white  pigment,  has,  in  addition, 
in  spaces  between  the  scrolls,  indications  of  black  coloring  material,  now  largely 
worn  away.  The  neck  has  a uniform  coating  of  red.  This  bottle  in  all  respects 
resembles  a class  of  vessels  found  in  sites  along  the  Arkansas  river. 

Vessel  No.  68,  a bottle  with  graceful,  globular  body,  and  flat  base,  has  a slender 
neck,  constricted  toward  the  opening  where  it  flares  sharply.  The  decoration  on 
body  and  neck  is  a uniform  coating  of  red  pigment.  Height  of  bottle,  9 inches; 
length  of  neck,  3.5  inches. 

Vessel  No.  27.  A bottle  of  yellow  ware,  having  as  decoration  on  its  globular 
body  with  flattened  base,  six  vertical,  elliptical  bands  of  red  and  white  pigment 
alternately.  Between  the  bands  is  a separating  space  showing  the  color  of  the 
ware.  The  slender  neck,  3.5  inches  in  height,  flaring  at  the  aperture,  has  been 
coated  with  red  pigment,  much  of  which  still  adheres.  Height  10.1  inches. 

Vessel  No.  43.  A bowl,  parts  of  which  were  not  recovered,  has  as  decoration 
inside  and  out  a coating  of  red  pigment.  On  one  side,  projecting  vertically,  is  the 
modeled  head  of  a predatory  bird,  and  on  the  opposite  side  a conventional  tail  ex- 
tending horizontally. 

Vessel  No.  8.  The  bowl  shown  in  Plate  XXXI,  though  slightly  asymmetrical, 
is  of  considerable  interest.  On  one  side,  in  relief,  are  modeled  the  snout,  mouth, 
eyes,  and  ears  of  some  animal,  probably  a raccoon.  Red  pigment  covers  much  of 
the  upper  part  of  the  vessel,  the  rest  of  which  has  had  a coating  of  light  pink  or 
cream-colored  pigment,  traces  of  which  still  remain.  The  interior  of  the  bowl  also 
has  a coating  of  red  paint  above,  and  traces  of  cream-colored  paint  are  present  on 
the  lower  part. 


406 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


The  K ent  Place,  Lee  County,  Ark. 

The  Kent  Place  is  on  the  left  side  of  a dead  river,  going  up,  about  five  miles 
above  its  union  with  the  Mississippi,  which  is  eighteen  miles  approximately,  by 
water,  above  the  St.  Francis  river.  This  plantation  belongs  to  Mr.  Lem  Banks,  of 
Memphis,  Tenn.,  whose  numerous  and  extensive  properties  on  the  Mississippi  and 
on  the  St.  Francis  rivers  have  all  been  placed  in  the  most  generous  way  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  Academy  for  investigation  throughout  the  last  two  seasons. 

There  are  various  mounds  on  the  Kent  Place,  all  more  or  less  altered  from 
their  original  shape  through  cultivation  and  through  wash  of  rain.  This  place  was 
well  known  when  the  dead  river  on  which  it  now  is  was  the  course  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  doubtless  in  the  subsequent  decades  great  quantities  of  burials  and  accom- 
panying artifacts  have  been  plowed  up  and  destroyed. 

About  one  mile  in  a northerly  direction  from  the  landing  on  the  Kent  Place  is 
a mound  about  18  feet  in  height,  if  measured  from  the  general  level.  North  and 
south  its  diameter  of  base  is  180  feet,  and  120  feet  east  and  west.  The  summit- 
plateau  slopes  upward  from  the  northern  extremity.  From  the  southern  end  of  the 
mound  a ridge  runs  southward  and  then  turning  eastward  continues  to  a deep 
depression  containing  water  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  which  depression  doubtless 
marks  the  spot  whence  material  for  the  building  of  the  mound  was  taken. 
The  length  of  this  extension  is  about  300  feet;  its  breadth  is  about  80  feet,  though 
it  varies  considerably.  The  ridge  slopes  sharply  after  leaving  the  mound,  so  that 
its  height  the  greater  part  of  the  way  is  inconsiderable. 

From  the  northern  extremity  of  the  mound  a similar  ridge,  340  feet  in  length, 
extends  in  a northerly  direction  and  then  turning,  continues  to  the  eastward. 

Near  the  landing  are  two  mounds,  one  of  considerable  size  but  greatly  spread 
and  cut  by  roadways,  worn  by  trampling  of  feet  and  washed  by  water,  on  which  are 
several  frame  buildings.  In  the  smaller  mound  many  burials  are  said  to  have  been 
made  in  recent  times. 

Some  dwelling-site  debris  lay  in  places  over  the  cultivated  part  of  the  planta- 
tion. A Hint  chisel,  however,  was  the  only  object  of  interest  gathered  by  us  from 
the  surface. 

As  the  clay  at  this  place  was  too  tenacious  to  permit  much  sounding  with  rods, 
trial-holes  were  almost  our  sole  means  of  finding  burials,  and  these  were  put  down 
in  great  numbers  throughout  five  and  one-half  days’  digging  by  six  men. 

The  sites  more  or  less  successfully  dug  at  the  Kent  Place  were : the  ridges  at 
both  ends  of  the  mound,  already  referred  to;  several  rises  of  the  ground  in  a field 
to  the  north  of  the  mound ; other  elevations  in  cultivated  ground  in  a southeasterly 
direction  from  the  mound.  One  burial  (No.  22),  which  will  be  particularly  described 
later,  came  from  the  summit-plateau  of  the  mound  itself  (in  which,  however,  owing 
to  recent  burials,  our  digging  was  very  restricted),  and  one  from  pasture  land  near 
the  old  river  bed. 

Our  investigation  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  fifty-four  burials,  as  follows  : 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


407 


Adults,  35 
Adolescents,  2 
Infants  and  children,  14 

Bunched  burials  of  adults,  none  exceeding  the  remains  of  two,  3 

The  thirty-seven  adults  and  adolescents  were  in  the  following  positions  : 

Extended  on  the  back,  11 

Partly  flexed  on  the  right  side,  11 

Partly  Hexed  on  the  left  side,  8 

Closely  Hexed  on  the  right  side,  1 

Disturbances,  aboriginal  and  recent,  5 

Burial  No.  30  lay  extended  on  the  back  to  the  knees,  but  the  legs  had  been 
Hexed  against  the  thighs,  bringing  the  feet  to  the  pelvis. 

Apart  from  burials  there  were  found  in  the  soil : one  small,  chipped,  cutting 
implement  of  Hint;  one  Hint  chisel;  one  arrowhead  of  the  same  material;  part  of 
an  undecorated  pipe  of  earthenware,  of  ordinary  type;  another  large  fragment  of 
an  earthenware  pipe  from  which  the  bowl  is  partly  missing,  which  lias  had  at  one 
time  an  extension  in  which  has  been  an  orifice  of  considerable  size.  In  front  of  the 
bowl  of  the  pipe  are  two  projections  like  feet  which  enable  the  pipe  to  stand  upright 
when  placed  on  a level  surface.  Such  supports  (found  even  on  some  modern  pipes) 
were  present  on  pipes  found  by  us  in  various  sites  along  the  St.  Francis  river, 
Arkansas.  It  is  interesting  to  note,  also,  that  pipes  of  this  class  were  used  by  the 
aborigines  in  Argentina,1  and  in  Mexico.2 

But  little  of  importance  in  addition  to  earthenware  had  been  placed  by  the 
aborigines  with  their  dead  at  the  Kent  Place.  We  shall  describe  in  detail  all 
burials  with  which  artifacts  other  than  earthenware  were  found,  including  the 
earthenware  discovered  with  these  particular  burials. 

Burial  No.  4,  a child  about  six  years  of  age,  had  near  the  head,  a bottle.  Near 
this  burial,  and  probably  belonging  to  it,  lay  a small  pebble,  part  of  which  had  been 
chipped  away  to  give  it  the  form  of  a ceremonial  axe.  No  perforation,  however,  is 
present. 

Burial  No.  5,  a child  about  seven  years  of  age,  had  at  the  neck  and  on  the 
chest,  eleven  shell  beads  and  an  ornament,  made  from  the  bone  of  some  fish,  having 
a hole  artificially  made,  and  apparently  trimmed  a little  on  the  edges.  At  the  left 
knee  was  a bottle. 

Burial  No.  6,  adult  at  full  length  on  the  back,  had  at  the  right  elbow  a bowl. 
By  the  legs  lay  a skull  21  inches  long,  belonging  to  a fish  of  the  gar  family. 

Burial  No.  7,  adult  partly  flexed  on  the  left  side,  lay  with  a bottle  at  the  left 
of  the  skull,  and  a bowl  under  the  left  shoulder.  At  the  neck  were  four  shell  beads. 
Burial  No.  8,  adult,  lay  partly  Hexed  on  the  right  side,  thus  bringing  the  knees 

1 Professors  F.  F.  Outes  and  C.  Bruch.  “Los  Aborigines  de  la  Republica  Argentina,”  p.  54. 

2 Eduard  Seler.  “ Die  alten  Bewohner  der  Landschaft  Michuacan,”  p.  101  et  seq.  Gesarn- 
melte  Abhandlungen  zur  Amerikanischen  Sprach-  und  Alterthumskunde.  Dritter  Band. 


408 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


toward  the  head.  In  the  space  between  the  knees  and  head  were  a bottle  and  a 
bowl.  Thrown  out  by  the  digger  at  work  on  this  burial,  and  doubtless  belonging 
to  it,  was  a tubular  bead  of  copper  or  of  brass,  very  badly  corroded. 

Burial  No.  9,  adult,  closely  flexed  on  the  right  side,  had  near  the  feet  a bottle, 
below  which  were  two  bowls.1  Near  these  bowls  were  fourteen  slender  arrowpoints 
of  flint,  eight  lying  together,  the  rest  slightly  scattered.  Crushed  against  the  pelvis 
were  a number  of  pendants  of  shell,  most  of  them  broken  beyond  restoration,  though 
a few  have  been  successfully  repaired.  These  pendants  had  been  made  by  cutting 
out  slender  sections  of  mussel-shells,  and  include  at  one  end  part  of  the  hinge  of 
the  shell,  beneath  which  is  a perforation.  One  side  of  each  ornament  is  scalloped. 
A small  quantity  of  powdered  hematite  lay  near  the  left  forearm  of  this  burial. 

Burial  No.  10,  adolescent  lying  flexed  on  the  right  side,  had  the  space  between 
the  knees  and  the  head  occupied  by  the  following  objects  : a bottle  and  a bowl;  an 
interesting  pipe  (Figs.  26,  27)  representing  a human  figure  with  perforations  in  the 


Fig.  26. — Pipe  of  earthenware.  Kent  Place,  Fig.  27. — Pipe  of  earthenware,  side  view.  Kent  Place,  Aik. 

Ark.  (Full  size.)  (Full  size.) 

ears.  On  the  back  of  the  figure  is  represented  the  back-bone  as  it  is  so  often  shown 
in  human  elfigy  vessels.  Near  the  pipe  were  three  pebbles,  about  3 inches  in 
diameter,  each  rudely  rounded  to  form  a discoidal  stone,  and  the  carapace  of  a 
tortoise. 

Burial  No.  12,  adult,  partly  flexed  on  the  left  side,  had  on  the  left  side  of  the 
skull,  an  ornament  of  sheet-copper,  3.25  inches  wide  by  5 inches  long,  having  two 
holes  near  together  at  the  center,  for  attachment.  On  the  outer  side  of  the  orna- 

1 At  the  Kent  Place,  vessels,  though  often  found  near  the  heads  of  burials,  also  frequently  were 
come  upon  at  other  parts  of  the  skeleton. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


409 


ment,  preserved  by  the  copper  salts,  were  the  remains  of  matting  with  which  the 
burial  probably  had  been  covered.  On  the  inner  side  were  fibrous  remains  badly 
decayed.  At  the  left  of  the  skull  was  a bowl,  and  at  the  left  shoulder  a vessel  of 
the  well-known  “teapot”  class.  At  the  outer  side  of  the  left  elbow  was  a ceremo- 
nial axe  of  quartzite,  of  what  is  known  as  the  hoe-shaped  variety,  5.25  inches  in 
length,  without  the  perforation  which  these  axes  usually  have. 

Burial  No.  15,  adult,  partly  Hexed  on  the  right  side,  had  a Hint  knife  4.1  inches 
in  length,  with  a double  serrated  edge,  at  the  right  fore-arm.  At  the  left  elbow 
was  a bowl  resting  in  another  bowl,  near  which  was  a lump  of  kaolin,1  probably 
used  for  pigment.  At  the  left  shoulder  was  a bottle  resting  on  a bit  of  sandstone. 
Near  the  skull  of  this  burial  were  two  discoidal  stones,  one  of  fossiliferous  lime- 
stone, the  other  roughly  rounded  from  a pebble.  A few  decaying  shell  beads  lay 
at  the  neck. 

Burial  No.  22,  adult,  was  the  one  to  which  reference  has  been  made  as  having 
been  found  in  the  summit-plateau  of  the  mound.  This  skeleton,  which  was  partly 
flexed  on  the  right  side,  lay  4 feet  down,  a depth  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
burial  found  by  us  at  the  Kent  Place.  At  the  left  of  the  skull  was  a rude  orna- 
ment of  sheet-copper,  7.75  inches  in  length  and  3.5  inches  in  maximum  width,  and 
having  three  perforations  at  one  end  for  suspension  or  attachment.  Small  bits  of 
copper  had  been  pieced  on  with  rivets  to  complete  the  ornament.  At  the  neck 
were  shell  beads  and  glass  beads  mingled.  At  the  left  of  the  pelvis  was  a bowl, 
and  a few  badly  decayed  shell  beads  lay  at  the  left  knee. 

Burial  No.  32,  adult,  at  full  length  on  the  back,  had  at  the  left  hand  four  badly 
decayed  mussel-shells,  each  with  a small  perforation  centrally  placed  in  the  shell 
and  not  just  below  the  hinge  as  perforations  of  this  kind  usually  are  found  in  such 
shells. 

Sixty-nine  vessels  of  earthenware  lay  with  the  burials  at  the  Kent  Place. 
These  vessels,  many  of  which  were  very  badly  crushed,  never  exceeded  five  with  a 
single  burial,  and,  as  we  have  said,  often  had  been  placed  at  parts  of  the  body  other 
than  the  head. 

The  majority  of  vessels  from  this  place  were  of  inferior  ware  and  of  most  com- 
mon forms,  though  the  use  of  color  for  decoration  on  the  pottery  had  been  popular 
among  the  aboriginal  dwellers  at  the  place,  since  no  fewer  than  fourteen  vessels 
bore  decoration  conferred  by  use  of  red  pigment,  while  four  had  designs  of  red  and 
white  paint,  and  two  others  red  and  white  pigment  with  black  coloring  material  in 
addition.  Many  of  the  red  vessels,  however,  were  disintegrated  beyond  redemp- 
tion, while  of  the  coloring  material  that  had  been  on  them  but  a small  portion 
remained. 

At  this  place,  presumably,  the  more  wealthy  or  influential  individuals  dwelt 
together,  inasmuch  as  every  vessel  or  other  artifact  of  any  interest  found  at  the 

1 Of  this  material  Doctor  Keller  writes:  “That  marked  ‘Kent  Place,  Lee  County,  Ark.,’  is  a 
pure  kaolin.  It  is  very  soft  and  friable  and  the  powder  consists  of  microscopic  crystalline  scales.  It 
is  only  slightly  discolored  upon  ignition,  and  a rough  quantitative  analysis  gave  silica  47.3%  ; alumina 
38.7%-  ; water  13.9%  ; and  a trace  of  lime.  This  is  very  nearly  the  composition  of  pure  kaolinite.” 

52  JOURN.  A.  N.  S.  PHILA.,  VOL.  XIV. 


410 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Kent  Place  came  from  the  two  extremities  of  the  mound  we  have  described  and 
from  a small  hump  a few  feet  from  it,  while  vessels  and  artifacts  from  various  sites 
in  the  fields  were  of  a very  inferior  class. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  in  connection  with  this  place  that  so  far  as  our  inves- 
tigations extend  it  furnishes  the  northernmost  occurrence,  on  the  Mississippi  river, 
of  the  well-known  “ teapot,”  or  spout  vessel,  though  we  have  found  vessels  of  this 
class  still  farther  north  on  the  St.  Francis  river,  Ark.  Four  “ teapot”  vessels,  all 
broken  and  some  very  fragmentary,  came  from  the  Kent  Place,  one  of  black  ware, 
two  coated  with  red  pigment,  and  one,  parts  of  which  unfortunately  had  been  car- 
ried away  by  a plow,  having  a handsome  decoration  in  red,  white,  and  black. 

There  was  almost  a complete  absence  of  incised  decoration  on  the  earthenware 
of  this  place.  A few  vessels  were  rudely  marked  Avith  parallel,  vertical  Hues ; one 
had  parallel  lines  encircling  a space  beloAv  the  margin;  one,  a bottle,  had  a most 
inferior  attempt  to  render  a scroll  design  Avith  the  aid  of  a sharp  point. 

We  shall  hoav  turn  to  vessels  from  the  Kent  Place  inviting  particular  description. 

Vessel  No.  9.  The  bottle  shown  in  Plate  XXXII  has  a barrel-shaped  body 
decorated  with  encircling  bands  of  red  and  of  white  pigment,  separated  by  narrow 
spaces  showing  the  yellow  of  the  ware.  The  neck  is  covered  with  a uniform  coat- 
ing of  red.  The  coloring  material  on  this  bottle  is  particularly  well  preserved  and 
bears  a considerable  polish. 

Vessel  No.  17.  This  vessel,  of  the  well-known  “teapot”  Arariety,  has  a uniform 
coating  of  red  pigment,  and  differs  from  most,  but  not  all  of  the  “ teapot”  class  in 
that  it  has  a fiat  base  of  circular  outline,  the  bases  of  the  majority  of  “teapot” 
vessels  being  rounded.  Another  minor  variation  in  this  vessel  is  that  the  knob 
opposite  the  spout  instead  of  being  rounded,  as  is  usual  in  vessels  of  this  kind, 
shows  a slight  flattening.  Height  7.2  inches. 

Vessel  No.  4.  This  bottle,  shown  in  Plate  XXXIII,  has  for  decoration  on  the 
body  six  figures,  elliptical  in  outline,  alternately  red  and  white.  Spaces  between 
these  figures  now  sIioav  the  yelloAv  of  the  ware  to  a considerable  extent,  but  have 
been  colored  black,  not  with  pigment,  but  with  material  leaving  hardly  more  than 
a stain,  perhaps  charcoal,  which  was  used  by  the  Blackfoot  Indians  in  recent  times 
for  coloring  pottery. 

Vessel  No.  26.  This  bottle,  7.3  inches  in  height,  is  an  example  of  the  crude 
work  in  color  so  often  met  with  in  the  Middle  Mississippi  region.  The  body,  which 
is  oblate-spheroidal,  is  covered  with  a design  consisting  of  a cherry-colored  cross 
Avhose  four  arms  extend  downward,  and  a cross  of  a somewhat  degraded  white, 
having  arms  directed  upward.  The  neck  of  the  bottle  is  coated  witli  three  bands, 
red,  Avhite,  and  red. 

Vessel  No.  1.  This  handsome  bottle  closely  resembles  one  figured  by  Holmes.1 
The  neck  lias  been  coated  Avith  red  pigment.  The  body  has  eight  vertical  spaces 
alternately  red  and  white,  separated  by  narroAV  margins  showing  the  yellow-brown 
color  of  the  Avare  (Plate  XXXIV). 

1 William  H.  Holmes.  “Aboriginal  Pottery  of  Eastern  United  States,”  Pi.  XLa. 


JOURN.  ACAD.  NAT.  SCI.  PHILAD.,  2ND  SER.,  VOL.  XIV. 


PLATE  XXXII 


KENT  PLACE,  ARKANSAS,  VESSEL  NO.  9.  (height,  to.2  inches.) 


Cockayne 


Boston 


JOURN.  ACAD.  NAT.  SCI.  PHILAD..  2ND  SER.,  VOL.  XIV. 


PLATE  XXXIII 


KENT  PLACE.  ARKANSAS.  VESSEL  NO.  4.  (height,  h i inches.) 


Cockayne.  Boston. 


/ 


JOURN.  ACAD.  NAT.  SCI.  PHILAD.,  2ND  SER.,  VOL.  XIV. 


PLATE  XXXIV 


" ....  ' 

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V*&  V 

psyLL;  ' * 

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k C\ " 


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ww- 


KENT  PLACE,  ARKANSAS,  VESSEL  NO.  I . (height,  10.2  inches.) 


Cockayne,  Boston. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


411 


Johnson  Place,  Tunica  County,  Miss. 

About  two  miles  east  by  north  from  Mhoon  Landing  is  a mound  in  a cultivated 
field  which  forms  part  of  the  plantation  of  Mr.  W.  M.  Johnson,  who  resides  upon 
it.  This  mound,  about  13  feet  high  and  120  and  150  feet  in  diameter  of  base,  has 
been  spread  by  the  long-continued  cultivation  to  which  it  has  been  subjected,  doubt- 
less with  considerable  impairment  of  height. 

A number  of  trial-holes  sunk  into  this  mound  soon  came  upon  raw  clay  where 
there  was  no  likelihood  of  encountering  a burial. 

Surrounding  the  mound  is  a considerable  aboriginal  dwelling-site,  part  of  which, 
on  a slope,  has  been  subjected  to  much  wash  of  rain,  judging  from  the  quantity  of 
fragments  of  human  bones  on  the  surface. 

Superficially  on  this  site,  on  which  lay  considerable  debris,  were  gathered  by 
us  : a Hint  drill ; a barbed  arrowhead  of  flint ; a pebble  on  which  a cutting  edge 
had  been  ground,  thus  forming  a diminutive  chisel ; numerous  fragments  of  pottery 
colored  red,  and  some  showing  stripes  of  white  and  red  ; a modeled  earthenware 
head  of  some  animal,  colored  red  in  places,  and  having  protruding  eyes  coated  with 
white  pigment. 

Apart  from  human  remains,  in  the  soil  was  a pipe  of  earthenware,  having  a 
flat  base  protruding  slightly  beyond  the  bowl. 

Unfortunately  at  this  place,  which  lias  long  been  under  cultivation,  most  of  the 
burials,  in  all  probability,  had  been  ploughed  and  washed  away.  Diligent  work  over 
all  parts  of  the  site  came  upon  four  burials:  a bunched  burial  with  the  bones  and 
skull  of  an  adult;  another  burial  of  the  same  class,  having  bones  and  skulls  of  three 
adults ; a burial,  presumably  a bunched  one,  consisting  of  adnlt  bones  which  had 
been  badly  disturbed  bv  cultivation  ; the  bones  of  a young  child. 

With  the  child’s  burial  was  a small  vase  coated  with  red  pigment,  and  many 
fragments  of  another  vessel. 

No  artifacts  lay  with  the  other  burials. 

Commerce,  Tunica  County,  Miss. 

Commerce  is  a small  town  on  a great  plantation  belonging  to  Mr.  R.  F.  Abbey, 
who  lives  upon  it.  About  three-quarters  of  a mile  in  a southerly  direction  from 
the  landing  is  a mound  on  cultivated  ground,  which  has  been  very  symmetrical  and 
is  still  imposing  in  appearance,  though  the  corners  are  somewhat  rounded.  This 
mound  has  been  extensively  used  for  burials  in  recent  times.  Its  height  taken  from 
the  northern  side,  where  were  neither  depressions  nor  ridges  of  any  kind,  is  slightly 
more  than  20  feet.  Its  sides  face  the  cardinal  points,  approximately.  Its  diameter 
of  base  N.  and  S.  is  193  feet;  that  of  the  summit-plateau  in  the  same  directions  is 
114  feet.  East  and  west  the  basal  diameter  is  173  feet,  83  feet  of  which  is  included 
in  the  summit-plateau. 

Near  this  mound  is  a limited  area  of  artificially  made  high  ground,  on  which 
lay  some  fragments  of  pottery,  a few  flint  pebbles,  and  much  baked  clay,  remains 


412 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


of  aboriginal  fire-places,  broadly  scattered  by  the  plow.  One  knife  and  one  chisel, 
both  of  Hint,  came  from  the  surface,  but  no  entire  arrowheads  were  met  with. 

Two  and  one-half  working  days  were  devoted  by  us  to  the  dwelling-sites  at 
this  place.  The  twenty-nine  burials  found  were  rather  widely  scattered  ; some  were 
near  the  surface  and  had  been  disturbed  by  the  plow.  We  were  informed  by  Mr. 
Abbey  that  the  part  of  the  plantation  on  which  we  were  at  work  had  been  under 
cultivation  since  about  1836  ; consequently,  it  is  likely  that  many  burials  have  been 
ploughed  away  in  the  past.  Fragments  of  human  bones  lay  in  all  directions  over 
the  sites. 

But  little  successful  work  could  be  done  with  the  sounding  rod  at  this  place 
owing  to  the  number  of  fire-places  below  the  surface,  whose  hardened  clay  impeded 
the  passage  of  the  rod.  Consequently,  trial-holes  were  practically  our  only  means 
of  discovering  burials. 

The  burials  were  as  follows  : 

Adults  at  full  length  on  the  back,  8 
Children,  2 

Bunched  burials,  18 

Cremation,  1 

The  eighteen  burials  of  bones  out  of  anatomical  order,  in  layers  and  in  piles, 
often  consisted  of  the  bones  of  one  individual  and  never  included  the  remains  of 
more  than  three. 

The  cremated  bones,  in  rather  small  fragments,  formed  a mass  about  20  inches 
long,  14  inches  wide,  with  a maximum  thickness  of  2 inches. 

Although  there  were  picked  up  on  the  surface  at  the  Commerce  Plantation  a 
number  of  fragments  of  pottery  having  rather  rude  incised  and  trailed  decoration, 
and  one  bit  of  ware  on  which  was  part  of  an  engraved  design,  as  well  as  a consid- 
erable number  of  bits  of  ware  colored  red  on  one  side  or  having  on  them  parts  of 
bands  of  red  and  of  white,  but  twelve  vessels  were  found  by  us  at  this  place.  These 
vessels  consist  of  eleven  bowls  of  moderate  size  and  one  fiat  bowl  or  platter.  All 
are  without  decoration  of  any  kind,  with  the  exception  of  one  vessel  covered  with 
rude  punctate  marks  and  of  another  vessel  with  a fillet-like  decoration  around  the 
margin  of  the  opening. 

No  mussel-shells  were  found  with  any  of  these  vessels. 

One  child  had  two  vessels;  one  of  the  extended  burials  had  two;  and  two  had 
one  each.  Five  bunched  burials  each  had  one  vessel,  and  a single  vessel  lay  with 
the  cremated  remains.  When  vessels  lay  near  bunched  burials  they  were  as  a rule 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  skulls. 

The  sole  burial  having  with  it  any  object  other  than  pottery  was  that  of  a 
child  about  four  years  of  age,  which  lay  at  a depth  greater  than  did  any  other  burial 
found  by  us  at  this  site,  namely  3 feet  8 inches.  No  pottery  la}'  with  this  inter- 
ment, but  on  the  chest  was  a face-shaped  gorget  about  5 inches  long,  made  from  the 
body  whorl  of  the  conch  (Fulgur  perversum).  This  ornament  has  two  holes  for  sus- 
pension at  the  top,  or  broader  end.  The  decoration  consists  of  a scallop-like  carving 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


413 


on  the  lower  ends  of  both  lateral  margins,  and  traces  of  workmanship  intended  to 
represent  a nose  and  mouth  on  one  flat  side. 

At  the  left  side  of  the  pelvis  of  this  burial,  where  the  left  hand  rested,  was  a 
ceremonial  axe  of  a silicious  conglomerate,  of  the  hoe-shaped  class,  4 inches  in  length 
and  3 inches  in  maximum  breadth  of  blade.  The  perforation  usually  found  on 
axes  of  this  kind  is  absent.  The  size  of  this  little  axe,  much  smaller  than  is  usual 
with  axes  of  this  kind,  marks  it  as  a toy  and  quite  in  keeping  with  the  age  of  the 
child  to  whom  it  belonged. 

Rhodes  Place,  Crittenden  County,  Ark. 

The  Rhodes  Place,  formerly  the  Earle  Place,  is  about  one  mile  directly  in  from 
Ward  Landing  and  is  the  property  of  Judge  John  F.  Rhodes  of  Marion,  Ark. 

On  this  plantation  is  a flat-topped  mound,  washed  out  of  all  definite  shape,  on 
which  stands  a dwelling.  The  height  of  the  mound,  taken  from  the  road  which 
passes  it,  but  which  itself  is  on  ground  artificially  heightened  in  aboriginal  times, 
is  13  feet.  On  the  opposite  side,  which  is  lower,  the  height  of  the  mound  is  aug- 
mented. Two  basal  diameters  of  the  irregular  base  are  200  feet  and  160  feet. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  this  mound  are  many  rises  of  the  ground  and  low  ridges 
on  which  are  evidences  of  former  habitation  by  the  aborigines.  It  was  in  these 
places  that  our  digging  was  done,  the  exact  localities  in  some  cases  having  been 
indicated  by  the  results  of  sounding  with  a steel  rod.  We  were  told  that  much 
work  had  been  done  at  this  place  by  two  persons  with  whose  names  we  were  famil- 
iar in  connection  with  their  wholesale  search  for  pottery  on  the  St.  Francis  river, 
Ark.,  and  evidence  of  previous  disturbance  at  the  Rhodes  Place  occasionally  was 
apparent. 

The  number  of  burials  found  by  us  was  sixty-five,  as  follows  : 

Adults,  36 

Adolescents,  2 

Infants  and  children,  27 

The  thirty-eight  adults  and  adolescents  lay  as  follows: 

At  full  length  on  the  back,  35 

Partly  flexed  on  the  right  side,  1 

Aboriginal  disturbances,  2 

The  skeleton  of  one  infant  also  had  been  disturbed  in  aboriginal  times. 

Included  among  the  extended  burials  are  two,  the  feet  of  one  of  which  had 
been  plowed  away,  while  the  skull  of  the  other  had  been  dug  down  to  and  removed 
by  a seeker  after  pottery. 

The  reader  will  note  the  absence  of  the  bunched  burial  at  this  place.  The 
bunched  burial  was  not  encountered  by  us  on  the  Mississippi  river  north  of  the  site 
at  Commerce. 

The  burials  lay  at  varying  depths  in  the  made  ground  which  had  grown  up 
under  aboriginal  occupancy,  the  deepest  grave  in  this  ground  (which  itself  varied 
in  depth)  having  been  40  inches.  One  burial,  however,  had  been  dug  through  the 


414 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


artificial  soil  to  extend  a foot  into  yellow  sand  which  underlies  the  made  ground  at 
the  Rhodes  Place.  The  bottom  of  this  grave  was  about  4 feet  from  the  surface. 

An  interesting  burial  (Number  9)  was  the  skeleton  of  a female  extended  at  full 
length,  and  having  on  the  left  arm  the  skeleton  of  a very  young  infant,  its  head 
resting  on  the  upper  arm  of  the  adult  skeleton.  This  skeleton  had  at  the  right 
elbow  a bowl,  and  over  the  left  shoulder  a bottle. 

On  the  surface,  and  in  the  soil,  but  apart  from  burials,  were  found  at  this  place  : 
a number  of  Hint  chisels;  a celt  of  slate;  a few  small  arrowheads  of  Hint;  several 
arrowheads  made  from  antler;  a number  of  rude  disks  wrought  from  fragments  of 
pottery  vessels,  two  centrally  perforated  ; a canine  tooth  of  a dog  (Can/s  fcnniliaris) ; 
one  bone  bead ; one  pottery  support  for  use  in  holding  a vessel  above  a fire,  of  the 
class  described  by  us  in  a former  report,1  this  particular  support,  however,  not  only 
being  concave  at  the  upper  end,  as  such  supports  usually  are,  but  having  a decided 
outward  bend  of  the  body  to  furnish  a more  secure  support  when  resting  against  a 
curved  surface,  than  a straight  body  could  afford. 

Also  apart  from  burials,  and  evidently  lost  during  the  occupancy  of  the  site, 
was  an  undecorated  pipe  of  earthenware,  of  ordinary  type,  and  a similar  pipe  was 
found  under  the  following  conditions.  Here  and  there  throughout  this  site  were 
large  fire-places  marked  by  areas  of  burnt  clay,  where  it  was  evident  the  firing  of 
pottery  had  been  carried  on.  Immediately  under  the  baked  clay  of  one  of  these 
fire-places  and  partly  included  in  a layer  of  carbonized  material,  lay  the  pipe  in 
question.  This  pipe,  fired  black  on  the  side  which  had  been  exposed  to  the  flames, 
but  light  yellow  in  color  on  the  upper  part,  presumably  had  been  overlooked  after 
incomplete  firing. 

At  the  Rhodes  Place  we  came  upon  the  southernmost  occurrence  in  our  exper- 
ience of  a curious  aboriginal  custom  unknown  to  us  before,  namely,  the  interment 
with  burials  (and  occasionally  apart  from  burials,  though  the  separation  may  have 
occurred  after  the  time  of  interment)  of  single  wing-bones  (metacarpals),  or  a num- 
ber of  these  same  bones  together,  which  had  belonged  to  various  birds,  kindly  iden- 
tified2 by  Prof.  F.  A.  Lucas  as  follows:  swan  ( Olor  americanns) ; Canada  goose 
[Brant a canadensis))  greater  snow  goose  [Chen  hyperboretis  nivalis );  lesser  snow 
goose  ( Chen  hyperboreus) ; wild  turkey  [Meleagris  gallopavo) ; a large  duck. 

At  the  great  aborignal  sites  at  the  Bradley  Place  and  at  Pecan  Point  this  cus- 
tom was  repeatedly  noted,  as  will  be  set  forth  in  the  accounts  of  these  sites,  which 
follow  in  this  report. 

These  wing-bones,  when  with  burials,  often  lay  near  the  forearms  of  skeletons, 
though  sometimes  the  bones  were  found  near  other  parts  of  the  burials. 

We  shall  now  describe  each  burial  with  which  were  artifacts  other  than  pot- 
tery, and  shall  give  details  of  such  pottery  as  was  found  with  these  burials. 

1 “Antiquities  of  the  St.  Francis,  White,  and  Black  Rivers,  Arkansas,”  p.  280  et  seq.  Journ. 
Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  Yol.  XIV. 

2 Some  of  the  wing-bones  found  by  us  were  so  badly  decayed  and  broken  that  they  were  not 
retained  for  identification. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


415 


Burial  No.  7,  the  skeleton  of  a child  four  or  five  years  of  age,  had  at  the  neck 
three  shell  beads  and  two  columellse  of  marine  shells.  Grouped  around  the  skull 
and  extending  along  the  right  side  to  the  elbow,  were  eight  vessels,  nearly  all 

diminutive.  Lying  beside  the  vessel  farthest  down  was 
an  undecorated  pipe  similar  to  the  two  others  from  this 
site.  The  placing  of  pipes  with  children  or  infants  was 
not  commonly  resorted  to  in  aboriginal  times,  but  it  has 
^ 1 'll ifo dTs'rM a ce ,U a rk 6 a ' f I ui Ti zej  been  previously  noted  by  us.  With  this  burial  was  also 

an  ear-plug  of  earthenware  (Fig.  28). 

Burial  No.  11,  of  a child  about  five  years  of  age,  had  a few  shell  beads  at  the 
top  of  the  skull  where,  perhaps,  they  had  fallen  from  the  neck  at  the  time  of  inter- 
ment. On  the  chest  was  an  undecorated,  face-shaped  gorget  of  shell,  2 inches  long 
and  1.75  inch  in  maximum  breadth,  having  two  perforations  at  the  broader  end 
and  one  at  the  opposite  extremity.  This  burial  had  pottery  vessels  as  follows:  a 
bottle  and  a bowl  above  the  skull;  a pot  at  the  right  shoulder;  a bowl  near  the 
right  humerus. 


Burial  No.  21,  adult,  at  full  length  on  back,  had  two  shell  ear-plugs  of  the 
well-known  class  having  the  shaft  cut  from  the  parietal  wall  of  the  shell  and  the 
head  from  parts  extending  to  each  side  of  the  suture.  These  lay  one  at  each  side 
of  the  skull.  With  this  burial,  also,  were  three  vessels  of  earthenware,  on  one  of 
which  was  a badly  decayed  mussel-shell,  having  on  the  outer  side  rude,  incised 
decoration. 

Burial  No.  28,  a child  about  four  years  of  age,  had  ear-plugs  of  shell  of  the  kind 
just  referred  to,  the  exact  relation  of  which  could  not  be  determined  as  the  skull 
had  been  disturbed  by  a blow  from  the  shovel  of  the  man  engaged  in  digging. 
Seven  vessels,  all  diminutive,  were  with  this  burial : a little  beyond  the  skull,  a bot- 
tle and  a bowl ; at  the  left  of  the  skull,  a pot  and  a vessel  made  in  imitation  of  a 
foot  of  a child,  with  toes  and  ankle  bones  distinctly  marked  (Fig.  35) ; at  the  right 
ankle,  two  bottles  and  a ladle  or  spoon. 

Burial  No.  33,  adolescent,  extended  on  the  back,  had  a pot  at  the  left  shoulder, 
and  near  the  head,  a shell  ear-plug  of  the  short,  blunt  pin  variety,  the  companion 
to  which  no  doubt  escaped  our  search. 

Burial  No.  41,  a child,  had  at  the  left  of  the  thigh  a much  decayed  mussel- 
shell  and  a wing-bone  of  a swan  ( Olor  americanus). 

Burial  No.  42,  a child  seven  or  eight  years  of  age,  had  at  the  neck  two  shell 
beads  and  one  tubular  bead  of  blue  glass.  On  the  left  side  of  the  thorax  was  a 
small,  face-shaped  gorget  of  shell,  without  decoration,  having  two  perforations  at 
the  upper,  or  broader,  end.  On  the  right  side  of  the  thorax  was  a rude,  discoidal 
stone  of  ferruginous  clay  with  a secondary  ferruginous  coating.  The  six  vessels 
which  lay  with  this  burial,  most  of  which  were  small,  had  the  following  arrange- 
ment : a pot  at  the  right  of  the  skull ; a bowl  over  the  right  shoulder ; a pot  at  the 
right  elbow ; a bottle  at  the  left  elbow ; a large  bowl  at  the  left  side  of  the  pelvis; 
a bottle  at  the  middle  of  the  left  femur.  A shell  bead  lay  near  one  of  these  vessels. 


416 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Burial  No.  45,  the  skeleton  of  a child  about  two  years  of  age,  had  at  the  neck 
a small,  thin  ornament  of  shell,  broken  into  many  fragments ; a bottle  lying  across 
a bowl,  both  diminutive,  at  the  left  of  the  skull:  a small  bowl  at  the  left  shoulder, 
on  which  was  an  animal  head  containing  objects  which  rattled  when  shaken. 

Burial  No.  53,  a child,  had  a bowl  at  the  right  of  the  pelvis  and  a discoidal  of 
sandstone  at  the  left  elbow. 

Burial  No.  54,  a child,  had  one  shell  bead  at  the  neck,  and  a small,  Hat  orna- 
ment of  shell  with  two  perforations,  on  the  chest.  Two  vessels  lay  at  the  right 
shoulder. 

Burial  No.  57,  adult,  extended  on  the  back,  had  a bowl  and  a pot  at  the  right 
of  the  skull ; a bottle  at  the  left  of  the  skull ; a pot  at  the  left  shoulder.  Near  the 
skull  also  was  a wing-bone  of  a lesser  snow  goose  ( Chen  hyperboreus ) ? 

One  hundred  and  twenty-three  pottery  vessels,  many  crushed  into  small  frag- 
ments, came  from  the  Rhodes  Place,  all  but  six  interred  with  burials.  Three  of 
these  six  vessels,  however,  lay  together,  and  unquestionably  had  accompanied  an 
interment.  In  aboriginal  sites  one  often  comes  upon  skeletons  from  which  vessels 
have  been  taken,  but  the  converse  is  unusual,  and  we  are  constrained  to  believe 
that  the  bones  of  a very  small  infant  had  disappeared  through  decay  (though  large 
bones  at  this  place  were  fairly  well  preserved),  or  that  our  digger  threw  the  small 
skeleton  back  and  buried  it  under  the  loose  soil  before  the  vessels  were  discovered. 

It  may  be  well  to  explain  in  connection  with  vessels  found  with  burials,  that 
the  total  number  met  with  at  any  one  site  must  be  less  than  originally  had  been 
placed  there,  since  aboriginal  disturbance  invariably  has  broken  or  removed  some 
vessels  which  latter  are  not  found  in  connection  with  the  hones,  while  in  recent 
times  the  plow,  and  the  “pot-hunter”  in  certain  cases,  have  removed  some  vessels, 
leaving  skeletons  or  parts  of  skeletons  behind. 

At  the  Rhodes  Place  the  greatest  number  of  vessels  found  with  one  burial  was 
nine,  and  children  had  been  by  far  the  most  favored. 

Many  of  the  vessels  are  shell-tempered.  None  has  decoration  in  color. 

The  more  interesting  vessels  from  this  place  will  now  be  particularly  described. 

Vessel  No.  19,  a howl  about  8.5  inches  in  diameter,  has  notches  around  the 
margin,  and  below,  on  opposite  sides,  the  modeled  head  and  tail  of  a frog  in  relief. 
In  place  of  modeled  legs  on  each  of  two  opposite  sides,  however,  is  a disk  in 
relief,  somewhat  more  than  one  inch  in  diameter. 

Vessel  No.  65.  This  human  effigy  bottle  (Fig.  29)  differs  from  others  found 
in  this  region  in  that  the  necks  of  the  latter  form  parts  of  the  modeled  heads  and 
are  subservient  to  them.  In  this  particular  case  a neck  similar  to  that  found  on 
the  bottles  of  the  region  has  the  head  in  relief  upon  it. 

A better  example  of  this  type  of  bottle  forms  part  of  the  collection  of  Mr.  E. 
E.  Baird  of  Poplar  Bluff,  Mo.,  for  not  only  is  the  modeling  of  the  vessel  superior  to 
that  of  our  specimen,  but  the  neck  of  the  bottle  is  embellished  with  a pair  of  well- 
made  ears. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


417 


Vessel  No.  21.  This  human  effigy  bottle  (Fig.  30)  is  by  far  the  most  inter- 
esting one  of  its  class  found  by  us  in  the  season’s  work.  The  head  is  well  modeled 
and  presents  a life-like  appearance.  Great  attention  has  been  given  to  details  on 
the  body,  for  not  only  is  the  back-bone  plainly  represented,  but  we  see  also  in  relief 
shoulder-blades,  collar-bones,  and  knobs  projecting  at  the  wrists,  indicating  the 
heads  of  the  ulnae.  The  costal  cartilages  and  the  sternum  also  appear  in  relief, 
and  a number  of  ribs  have  been  incised  on  each  side. 

But  the  most  interesting  feature  of  all  is  that  the  figure  is  represented  as 


Fig.  29. — Vessel  No.  65.  Rhodes  Place,  Ark.  (Height  7.4  inches.) 


53  JOURN.  A.  N.  S.  PHILA.,  VOL.  XIV. 


418 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 


Fig.  30.— Vessel  No.  21.  Rhodes  Place,  Ark.  (Height  8.4  inches.) 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


419 


Fig.  31. — Vessel  No.  32,  Rhodes  Place,  Ark.  (About  full  size.) 

bird  with  extended  wings  at  one  side  of  the  head.  The  reader  probably  will  recall 
also  that  in  Le  Moyne’s  “Narrative,”  Plate  XIV,  is  portrayed  a chief  wearing  part 
of  a bird  on  the  head. 

Vessel  No.  18.  This  interesting  life-form  represents  a bird  with  a crest  ex- 
tending backward  from  the  head  and  joining  the  body  of  the  vessel.  Both  wings 
also  are  shown,  and  the  tail,  below  which  is  modeled  the  vent  in  relief  (Fig.  32). 

Vessel  No.  28  is  a bowl  (Fig.  33)  belonging  to  the  well-known  class  having  a 
grotesque  head  of  some  fanciful  animal  on  one  side,  and  a curling  tail  on  the  oppo- 
site side.  This  particular  vessel,  which  is  superior  to  many  of  its  class,  has  on  the 
back  of  the  head  a swastika  incised  within  a circle. 

1 Thomas  Wilson.  “The  Swastika,”  Plate  X,  Rep.  U.  S.  Xat.  Mus.,  1894. 


sitting  cross-legged,  a position  very  rarely  seen  in  aboriginal  figures  found  in  the 
United  States,  the  legs  on  effigy  bottles  almost  invariably  being  represented  Hexed 
back  parallel  under  the  figure.  On  a shell  gorget  from  Tennessee,1  however,  a 
cross-legged  figure  is  shown. 

Vessel  No.  32.  A bowl  (Fig.  31)  having  a modeled  human  head  on  which  is  a 
head-dress  presumably  made  from  a stuffed  bird  or  from  a bird-skin.  In  this  con- 
nection we  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Charles  C.  Willoughby  for  the  reference,  Plate  II 
of  Thomas  Hariot’s  “ Virginia,”  Holbein  edition,  where  is  shown  an  Indian  with  a 


420 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 


Fig.  32. — Vessel  Xo.  18. 


Rhodes  Place,  Ark.  (About  full  size.) 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER,  421 

Vessel  No.  78.  A little  bowl  of  a class  common  to  the  region,  with  a modeled, 
upright  head  of  a bird  on  one  side  and  a conventional  tail  on  the  other.  The  only 
feature  of  special  interest  about  this  vessel  is  that  a perforation  has  been  made  in 
the  back  of  the  head  to  aid  suspension  in  connection  with  two  perforations  present 
in  the  tail.  Diameter  5.1  inches. 

Vessel  No.  90.  A small  bowl  with  head,  tail,  and  legs  of  a frog,  modeled  in 
relief.  Small  objects  within  the  head  rattle  when  shaken.  Height  2.9  inches. 

Vessel  No.  26.  A bowl  7 inches  in  diameter,  having  a modeled,  upright  head 
of  some  animal  impossible  to  identify,  and  resembling  numerous  other  vessels  from 
this  region.  On  the  back  of  the  head,  incised,  is  a triskelion  within  a circle. 

Vessel  No.  82.  This  bottle  (Fig.  34)  is  decorated  as  to  the  neck  with  notched, 
encircling  bands,  one  at  the  base,  one  somewhat  below  the  opening.  On  one  side 
is  a rude  attempt  to  portray  a human  face.  On  the  remainder  of  the  neck  are 
three  upright,  notched  fillets. 

Vessel  No.  56.  This  bottle,  of  most  unusual  form  (Fig.  35),  representing  a 
human  foot,  was  found,  as  we  have  already  explained,  with  the  skeleton  of  a child 
about  four  years  of  age.  The  neck  of  the  bottle,  struck  by  a spade  at  the  time  of 


Fig.  33. — Vessel  No.  28.  Rhodes  Place,  Ark.  (Height  7.75  inches.) 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Fig.  34. — Vessel  No.  82.  Rhodes  Place,  Ark.  (Height  5.1  inches.) 


Fig.  35. — Vessel  No.  56.  Rhodes  Place,  Ark.  (About  full  size.) 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


423 


Fig.  36. — Vessel  No.  45.  Rhodes  Place,  Ark.  (Height  8.4  inches.) 


424 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


its  discovery,  has  been  restored  from  parts  which  clearly  indicate  the  height  and 
shape  of  the  neck.  General  Thruston1  cites  Doctor  Jones2  who  describes  and 
figures  a bottle  from  a Tennessee  grave,  representing  the  foot  and  leg  of  a child. 
The  foot,  however,  is  at  the  top  of  the  bottle,  with  the  opening  at  the  heel. 


Fig.  38. — Vessel  No.  3.  Rhodes  Place,  Ark.  (Diam.  8.7  inches.) 


General  Thruston3  also  figures  and  describes  a stone  pipe  found  near  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  which  represents  a human  foot. 

Vessel  No.  45.  A pot  (Fig.  36),  evidently  a cooking- vessel,  is  of  rather  infe- 
rior, shell-tempered  ware,  and  bears  a decoration,  incised  and  punctate,  of  about  the 
average  excellence  met  with  in  that  class  of  work  in  the  Middle  Mississippi  region. 
Around  the  neck  is  a series  of  loop-handles. 

) Gates  P.  Thruston.  “Antiquities  of  Tennessee,”  Second  ed.,  p.  137. 

" Joseph  Jones,  M.D.  “Exploration  of  the  Aboriginal  Remains  of  Tennessee,”  Fig.  28. 

Op.  tit.,  p.  190. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


425 


Vessel  No.  51.  This  pot  (Fig.  37),  another  cooking-vessel,  much  resembles  the 
one  just  described.  The  loop-handles,  however,  are  replaced  by  a more  conven- 
tionalized form,  merely  uprights  in  relief. 

Vessel  No.  3.  This  pot  (Fig.  38),  also  presumably  used  for  culinary  purposes, 
although  made  of  coarse,  shell-tempered  ware,  and  possessing  a surface  unfitted  for 
such  work,  has  a handsome,  incised  decoration  far  excelling  most  of  the  embellish- 
ment of  this  class  found  in  the  Middle  Mississippi  region.  The  design,  based 
on  the  swastika,  appears  four  times.  In  spaces  between  the  upper  parts  are 
upright  lines  in  relief,  surmounted  b}^  what  are  probably  intended  to  represent 
human  heads. 


Fig.  39. — Vessel  No.  73.  Bhodes  Place,  Ark.  (Height  of  bowl  2.8  inches.) 


Vessel  No.  73.  A bowl  having  a modeled  human  head  upright  on  one  side 
and  a conventional  tail  extending  horizontally  on  the  opposite  side.  On  the  tail 
appear  two  incised  ovals,  probably  a symbol  (Fig.  39). 

Vessel  No.  47.  This  vase,  in  reality  more  gracefully  shaped  than  Fig.  40 
would  lead  one  to  believe,  bears  on  the  body  an  incised  decoration  based  on  the 
swastika  and  perhaps  in  part  derived  from  the  crested  serpent. 

Vessel  No.  81,  a bowl,  is  decorated  interiorly  with  a poorly  executed,  incised 
design,  the  meaning  of  which  is  problematical,  though  possibly  a bird  may  be  rep- 
resented, as  what  may  be  intended  for  head,  tail,  body,  and  wings  appear  on  the 
design  shown  in  diagram  in  Fig.  41. 

O O o 


54  JOURN.  A.  N.  S.  PHILA.,  VOL.  XIV. 


426 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Fig.  40. — Vessel  No.  47.  Rhodes  Place,  Ark.  (Height  4.5  inches.) 


Fig.  41. — Vessel  No.  81.  Rhodes  Place,  Ark.  Decoration.  (Half-size.) 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


427 


The  Mound  Place,  Crittenden  County,  Ark. 

The  Mound  Place,  believed  to  be  about  three  miles  in  a direct  line  from 
Wyanoka  Landing  on  the  Mississippi  river,  is  the  property  of  Mr.  D.  H.  Fox,  of 
Memphis,  Tenn.  The  plantation  takes  its  name  from  a number  of  mounds  here 
and  there  on  the  place,  variously  from  5 to  15  feet  in  height,  all  much  altered  in 
shape  by  cultivation. 

One  day,  with  eight  men  to  dig,  was  devoted  by  us  to  this  place,  the  work 
being  done  in  some  of  the  mounds  and  in  all  the  most  promising  localities  on  the 
level  ground. 

Although  fragments  of  human  bone  and  some  broken  pottery  lay  on  some  of 
the  mounds,  nothing  was  found  in  them  by  us,  the  diggers  soon  passing  through  a 
stratum  of  made  ground  to  raw  soil  beneath,  in  which  burials  could  not  reasonably 
be  expected  to  be  found.  Presumably  much  of  the  ground  made  by  occupancy, 
and  all  the  included  burials,  had  been  ploughed  away.  We  were  informed  that  the 
original  height  of  the  mounds  had  been  impaired  to  a considerable  extent  by  culti- 
vation . 

In  the  level  ground,  though  many  trial-holes  were  dug,  but  live  burials  were 
encountered — two  of  adults,  two  of  children,  one  of  an  adolescent.  The  maximum 
depth  was  32  inches. 

With  these  burials  were  eight  earthenware  vessels,  four  with  a single  burial. 
On  two  pots  is  rude  incised  decoration  consisting  of  parallel  lines;  and  on  a bottle, 
also  incised,  are  partly  interlocked  scrolls  made  up  of  bands  filled  in  with  reticulate 
lines.  One  small  bowl,  rather  neatly  made,  and  having  the  tail  and  head  of  a frog 
modeled  on  opposite  sides  (an  opening  representing  the  mouth),  has  an  incised  deco- 
ration based  on  the  swastika  and,  in  addition,  three  circles,  in  two  of  which  are 
scratched  four-armed  crosses,  and  in  the  other,  one  with  eight  arms.  A bowl  has 
four  lobes  on  the  body,  rather  rudely  made. 

It  was  evident  from  the  number  of  mounds  on  the  Mound  Place  and  from  the 
quantity  of  debris  on  the  level  ground  that  the  site  at  one  time  had  been  a large 
one.  Presumably  long  cultivation  had  carried  away  all  the  more  superficial  burials, 
leaving  only  a few  of  the  deepest  ones. 

The  Bradley  Pi, ace,  Crittenden  County,  Ark. 

The  Bradley  Place,  on  the  left-hand  side  going  up,  of  an  “old  river,”  a former 
course  of  the  Mississippi,  which  passes  back  of  Island  No.  40,  is  said  to  be  eight 
miles  above  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers,  this  union  being  about  ten  miles  above 
M empliis,  though,  of  course,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  plantation,  the  property  of  Messrs.  Banks  and  Danner  (Mr.  Lem  Banks  of 
Memphis,  whose  courtesy  to  the  Academy  we  have  referred  to  in  connection  with 
the  Kent  Place,  and  Mr.  W.  S.  Danner,  residing  on  the  plantation),  has  long  been 
famous  for  the  discovery  of  aboriginal  pottery  in  various  parts  of  its  great  extent. 
It  is  said  that  the  interesting  collection  of  aboriginal  pottery  in  the  Cossitt  Library 
at  Memphis,  came  from  this  place,  and  doubtless  much  of  it  did,  but  as  the  collec- 


428 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


tion  was  made  long  ago,  and  as  exact  data  did  not  accompany  the  pottery,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  determine  the  origin  of  any  particular  vessel  in  it. 

On  the  Bradley  Place,  about  one-half  mile  from  the  water,  are  four  mounds 
near  together,  one  in  the  form  of  a ridge.  These  mounds,  the  Wampanocka  group, 
the  highest  of  which  is  about  20  feet,  were  without  history  of  discovery  of  any 
kind  of  aboriginal  relics,  we  were  told.  Some  have  been  used  in  recent  times  for 
burial  purposes.  Moreover,  as  these  mounds  would  be  a place  of  refuge  in  event 
of  the  breaking  of  the  levee  (in  which  one  of  them  is  incorporated),  no  digging  into 
them  was  attempted.  Presumably,  like  other  large  mounds  of  this  region,  these 
were  built  for  domiciliary  purposes. 

The  cultivated  portion  of  the  Bradley  Place,  at  the  present  writing,  consists  of 
a comparatively  small  part  lying  between  the  mounds  and  the  water,  and  a vast 
held  around  the  mounds  and  extending  for  several  miles  inland. 

On  parts  of  the  territory  between  the  mounds  and  the  river,  and  on  the  east- 
ern end  of  the  great  held  (near  the  mounds,  and  farther  back  in  the  more  or  less 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  remains  of  a mound  not  associated  with  the  group),  as 
well  as  comparatively  near  the  western  extremity  of  the  great  cultivated  tract,  are 
ancient  dwelling-sites,  all  more  or  less  following  the  course  of  Wampanocka  bayou. 
On  these  sites  lay  many  relics  of  aboriginal  life  and  death — bits  of  pottery;  arrow- 
heads, hakes,  pebbles,  chisels,  etc.,  of  hint;  and  numerous  fragments  of  human 
bones. 

All  these  sites  have  been  for  years  most  industriously  prodded  by  the  rods  of 
colored  men  resident  on  the  place  and  by  those  of  visiting  “pot-hunters,”  one  of 
whom  is  known  to  have  remained  at  the  plantation  for  a considerable  length  of 
time. 

All  these  sites  also  were  carefully  gone  over  by  us  with  the  aid  of  rods  and  of 
trial-holes,  but  while  many  burials  were  encountered,  the  fact  that  a marked  pro- 
portion of  them  had  been  dug  down  to  and  deprived  of  accompanying  artifacts, 
considerably  impaired  the  scientific  value  of  our  results. 

Ten  and  one-half  days,  with  eight  men  to  dig,  were  devoted  to  this  place.  The 
investigation  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-one  burials,  none 
more  than  42  inches  in  depth,  as  follows  : 1 
Adults,  134 
Adolescents,  G 
Infants  and  children,  40 

The  forms  of  burial  of  the  one  hundred  and  forty  adults  and  adolescents,  less 
eight  disturbances,  aboriginal  or  recent,  were  : 

Extended  on  the  back,  117 
At  full  length,  face  down,  7 
Extended  on  the  right  side,  1 
Partly  Hexed  on  the  left  side,  3 
To  be  particularly  described,  4 

1 With  the  exception  of  one  burial,  particulars  as  to  which  are  not  in  our  field  notes. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


429 


Of  the  burials  at  full  length  on  the  back  thirteen  had  the  legs  crossed  at  the 
ankles,  in  seven  instances  the  left  over  the  right,  and  in  six  cases  in  the  reverse 
position. 

Burial  No.  43,  adult,  lay  with  the  trunk  on  the  back  and  the  lower  extremi- 
ties partly  Hexed  upward. 

Burial  No.  81,  adult,  had  the  trunk  on  the  back,  the  thighs  almost  vertical,  the 
legs  flexed  back  toward  the  thighs. 

Burial  No.  92,  adolescent,  lay  at  the  bottom  of  a pit  about  3 feet  in  length. 
The  position  of  the  skeleton  was  the  result  of  its  restriction  to  such  limited  quar- 
ters. The  trunk  lay  semi- reclining  against  one  end  of  the  grave,  the  head  thrown 
back,  face  up,  the  arms  parallel  to  the  trunk.  The  thighs  rested  on  the  base  of  the 
hole,  the  left  leg  flexed  back  along  its  thigh,  the  right  leg  extending  almost  verti- 
cally upward  along  the  other  end  of  the  grave. 

Burial  No.  129,  adult,  lay  prone,  the  head  on  the  right  side,  the  right  arm 
under  the  trunk,  the  fore-arm  flexed,  bringing  the  hand  to  the  head.  The  left 
arm  lay  along  the  trunk. 

The  soil  at  the  Bradley  Place,  though  fire-places  were  evident  occasionally,  did 
not  show  the  long  aboriginal  occupancy  that  we  have  found  indicated  at  some  other 
sites. 

In  the  soil,  apart  from  burials,  were  : one  ear-plug  of  pottery,  of  the  blunt  pin 
type;  one  earthenware  pipe  of  ordinary  pattern  and  undecorated;  three  disks 
wrought  from  fragments  of  pottery  vessels,  each  with  a central  perforation  ; a num- 
ber of  unperforated  pottery  disks;  several  chisels  made  from  flint  pebbles;  a num- 
ber of  arrowpoints  fashioned  from  deer  antler;  part  of  an  antler  with  an  encircling 
groove  made  preparatory  to  separation  ; two  astragali  of  Virginia  deer,  ground  flat 
on  two  sides  and  somewhat  worked  on  two  other  sides,  similar  to  the  interesting 
astragali  to  be  described  particularly,  later  in  this  report,  in  connection  with  our 
investigation  of  the  site  at  Pecan  Point.  There  were  encountered  in  the  digging 
also  three  small  celts,  one  of  sedimentary  and  two  probably  of  igneous  rock  ; one 
small  celt  of  black  flint;  numerous  arrowheads  of  flint,  including  two  of  fair  size 
and  barbed,  the  others  being  small,  often  leaf-shaped,  but  sometimes  square  at  the 
base ; a fragment  of  an  undecorated  ornament  of  sheet-copper. 

In  one  or  two  instances,  lying  in  the  made  ground  at  this  place,  were  halves 
of  lower  jaws  of  deer,  which  probably  had  been  used  as  scrapers  for  maize  when 
green,  as  they  sometimes  were  among  the  Iroquois.1  We  are  told  that  this  part  of 
the  jaw  was  held  bj^  the  anterior,  toothless  portion  and  with  the  sharp  back  teeth 
the  kernels  were  scraped  from  the  cob.  “The  Seneca  housewife  when  she  uses  the 
jaw  scraper,  with  characteristic  humor,  says,  ‘1  am  letting  the  deer  chew  the  com 
first  for  me.’  ” 

Some  interments  at  the  Bradley  Place  were  without  artifacts  of  any  sort; 
others  had  pottery  alone. 

1 Arthur  C.  Parker.  “ Iroquois  Uses  of  Maize  and  other  Food  Plants,”  p.  53.  New  York 
State  Museum.  Museum  Bulletin  144. 


430 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


The  following  burials  had  artifacts  other  than  pottery  associated  with  them. 
All  burials  of  adults,  when  not  otherwise  specified,  lay  extended  on  the  backs. 

Burial  No.  2,  adolescent,  disturbed.  This  burial  had  with  it  two  ear-plugs  of 
the  blunt  pin  type  which,  however,  were  not  found  in  place  near  the  head  as  the 
skeleton  had  been  disturbed  by  recent  digging  prior  to  ours. 

Burial  No.  3,  a child,  had  one  shell  bead  at  the  neck;  a bowl  and  a bottle  near 
the  head. 

Burial  No.  10,  a child,  with  which  were  two  bottles  and  a pot,  near  the  skull ; 
at  the  neck,  two  shell  beads,  and  a small,  fiat  ornament  of  shell,  tending  toward 
oval  in  outline  and  having  two  perforations  at  the  broader  end. 

Burial  No.  24,  a child,  had  a large  and  a small  bottle  at  the  left  of  the  thorax. 
Large  bottles  associated  with  children’s  burials  are  somewhat  unusually  found. 
Together,  at  the  right  elbow,  were  a bit  of  quartz  crystal  and  fragments  of  a shell 
from  the  Gulf  coast  ( Cardiitm  robustum).  With  these  was  an  ear-plug  gracefully 
carved  from  a fairly  hard,  white  stone  and  copper-coated  on  the  outer  surface.  A 
part  of  that  portion  of  the  ear-plug  which  was  intended  to  button  back  of  the  lobe 
of  the  ear,  is  missing  through  breakage  evidently  in  ancient  times,  from  the  appear- 


Fig.  42. — Ear-plug  of  stone  coated  with  sheet-copper  on  the  upper  surface.  With  burial  No.  24. 

Bradley  Place,  Ark.  (Full  size.) 


ance  of  the  surface  of  the  broken  part.  The  mate  to  this  ear-plug  was  not  present, 
and  it  is  likely  that  the  broken  ornament  had  been  given  to  the  child  with  which 
it  was  found,  for  use  as  a plaything  or  as  an  ornament.  This  ear-plug  is  shown  in 
three  positions  in  Fig.  42.  Ear-plugs  of  limestone,  copper-coated  similarly  to  this 
one,  have  been  found  by  us  in  middle  Florida,  though  the  stone  of  these  ornaments 
is  not  nearly  so  gracefully  carved  as  is  that  of  the  ear-plug  from  the  Bradley  Place. 
An  ear-plug  closely  resembling  this  one,  from  a stone  grave  in  middle  Tennessee,  is 
figured  by  General  Thruston.1 

Burial  No.  39,  adult,  had  four  wing-bones  of  swans  ( Olov  americanus ) together 
at  the  inner  side  of  the  right  humerus. 

Burial  No.  54,  adult,  had  at  the  right  hand  a wing-bone  of  a goose  (. Branta 
canadensis).  A bowl  and  a bottle  were  near  the  skull. 

1 Gates  P.  Thruston.  “Antiquities  of  Tennessee,”  Second  ed.,  p.  169. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


431 


Burial  No.  56,  a child,  had  at  each  side  of  the  head  an  ear-plug  of  the  kind 
somewhat  resembling  a mushroom  in  shape. 

Burial  No.  57,  adult.  At  the  right  of  the  skull  were  two  entire  tortoise  shells, 
with  an  arrowhead  of  antler  under  one  of  them.  A bowl  and  a bottle  were  near 
the  skull. 

Burial  No  62,  a child.  At  the  left  of  the  skull  was  a bowl,  and  another  bowl 
had  been  placed  at  the  left  humerus.  In  one  of  these  was  a rude  discoidal  stone. 
A bottle  was  at  the  right  elbow,  and  at  the  left  of  the  pelvis,  the  carapace  of  a 
small  tortoise.  At  the  left  knee  lay  a bowl,  and  nearby  an  astragalus  of  a deer, 
characteristically  ground  for  use  in  a game. 

Burial  No.  68,  a child,  had  with  it  two  bottles,  one  of  which  had  been  deposi- 
ted after  the  loss  of  the  neck.  In  the  unbroken  bottle  were  : one  large  bone  bead 
and  parts  of  another  one  ; a very  small  and  badly  decayed  shell  ornament  with  a 
single  perforation  ; twenty-five  delicate  tubes  of  bone,  probably  beads,  averaging 
about  one  inch  in  length. 

Burial  No.  70,  a child,  had  at  the  left  of  the  skull  a pot,  a discoidal  stone,  a 
badly  decayed  astragalus  ground  to  a certain  extent  as  to  some  of  the  sides. 

Burial  No.  72,  a child.  Near  the  skull  were  : a bowl ; a bottle;  a flint  chisel ; 
a shell  ear-plug  at  one  side  of  the  head,  its  mate  probably  having  been  thrown  back 
by  the  digger.  At  the  left  shoulder  lay  a bowl ; a bottle  was  at  the  left  humerus; 
on  the  lower  part  of  the  trunk  was  a bottle  without  a neck.  At  the  left  of  the 
pelvis  a pot  and  a bowl  had  been  placed,  while  over  the  pelvis  was  a bottle. 

Burial  No.  75,  a child  two  or  three  years  of  age,  had  at  the  left  of  the  skull  a 
mass  of  red  oxide  of  iron,  ground  for  use  as  pigment.  Dr.  H.  F.  Keller  speaks  of 
this  pigment  as  highly  ferruginous.  At  the  neck  were  : thirty-six  shell  beads 
one-third  to  one-half  inch  in  length ; one  small,  tubular  bead  of  sheet-copper 
or  of  sheet-brass,  corroded  through  and  through;  two  beads  of  glass.  With  the 
beads  were  the  spire  of  a marine  shell,  greatly  decayed,  having  two  perforations 
for  suspension,  and  what  seem  to  be  two  diminutive,  copper  bracelets,  one  placed 
above  the  other  and  joined  together  through  corrosion  when  found.  These  brace- 
lets, if  such  they  are,  are  made  of  rods  of  copper  with  overlapping  ends,  but  are 
bent  to  have  an  inside  diameter  of  .75  inch,  and  hence,  with  such  proportions,  could 
hardly  have  encircled  the  wrists  of  even  a young  infant.  Perhaps,  placed  together, 
they  served  as  a pendent  ornament,  in  connection  with  the  beads.  Attached  to 
these  by  corrosion  was  a metal  bead  similar  to  the  one  already  described.  On  the 
chest  of  the  skeleton  was  an  undecorated  gorget  of  shell,  irregularly  oblong,  3 by 
3.5  inches,  having  at  the  broader  end  four  perforations,  two  in  line  immediately 
above  two  others  also  in  line.  To  the  right  of  the  pelvis  stood  a bottle. 

Burial  No.  83,  a child,  had  at  the  neck  a bottle,  and  an  astragalus  of  an  elk', 
ground  smooth  on  two  of  its  sides  and  worked  to  some  extent  on  two  other  sides. 

Burial  No.  116,  a child  about  six  years  of  age,  had  with  it  a bottle  near  the 
head  and  shell  beads  at  the  neck,  with  which  was  a small  section  cut  from  the  body 
whorl  of  a marine  univalve,  having  one  perforation  for  suspension. 


432 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


Burial  No.  119,  a child,  lay  with  a vessel  at  each  side  of  the  skull  and  shell 
ear-plugs  on  opposite  sides  of  the  head.  A badly  decayed  columella  of  a small 
marine  univalve  lay  at  the  chin  ; a bottle  was  near  the  left  side  of  the  pelvis. 

Burial  No.  120,  adult,  had  at  the  right  of  the  skull,  a bottle,  and  at  the  right 
shoulder  a number  of  small  pebbles  together,  presumably  having  belonged  to  a 
rattle,  the  rest  of  which  had  disappeared  through  decay. 

Burial  No.  124,  adult,  was  interesting  in  that  it  had  a howl  inverted  over  the 
skull,  completely  covering  it.  Under  this  bowl,  to  the  left  of 
the  lower  jaw  of  the  skeleton,  was  an  earthenware  pipe  having 
a Hat  base  surrounded  by  an  incised  line.  To  the  left  of  the 
covering  bowl  was  another  bowl  upright.  Over  part  of  the  thorax 
was  a bowl ; and  another  bowl  lay  at  the  left  shoulder,  near 
which  was  an  undecorated  earthenware  pipe  of  ordinary  pat- 
tern. Immediately  alongside  the  covered  skull  of  this  skeleton 
was  evidence  of  comparatively  recent  digging,  and  it  is  proba- 
ble that  other  objects  belonging  to  this  burial  had  been  re- 
moved previous  to  our  coming. 

Burial  No.  126,  adult,  had  to  the  right  of  the  skulk  a bottle 
resting  on  a bowl.  Over  the  opening  of  the  bottle  was  a spoon 
with  dentate  margin  at  one  end,  made  from  a mussel-shell, 
which  was  greatly  decayed  when  found.  At  the  left  of  the 
skull,  and  extending  beyond,  were  eighty-five  chips,  pebbles, 
and  parts  of  pebbles,  of  Hint.  With  these  was  a mass  of  red 
pigment.  At  the  right  shoulder  were  a flint  pebble  and  an 
arrowhead  of  antler. 

At  the  outer  side  of  the  right  humerus,  and  parallel  to  it, 
lay  a most  interesting  object,  namely,  a tool  consisting  of  a 
handle  of  deer  antler  much  worked  down  and  showing  impres- 
sions of  cord  which  had  encircled  it  its  entire  length  at  certain 
distances  apart.  Each  end  of  this  handle  is  hollowed  out  to  a 
considerable  extent,  and  at  one  end  is  a perforation,  presuma- 
bly for  suspension.  In  place  in  the  other  end  was  the  incisor 
of  a beaver  projecting  from  the  socket  1.1  inch,  the  curve  of  the 
tooth  being  in  reverse  direction  to  a curve  in  the  handle  (Fig. 
43).  The  tooth  is  considerably  chipped  at  the  distal  end  as  if 
by  use.  Although  held  in  place,  when  found,  by  a mixture  of 
sand  and  clay  which  had  gained  entrance  to  the  socket,  the 
former  method  by  which  the  tooth  had  been  fixed  was  not 
apparent.  Presumably  gum  had  been  used  which,  in  course  of 
time,  disappeared  through  decay. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Professor  Putnam  1 found  in 


Fig.  43. — Tool  made  of  an 
incisor  of  a beaver,  in  a 
handle  of  antler.  Witli 
Burial  No.  126.  Bradley 
Place,  Ark.  (Full  size.) 


1 Frederic  W.  Putnam.  Eighteenth  and  Nineteenth  Annual  Reports  Peabody  Museum 
American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  p.  456,  Figs.  8 and  9. 


of 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


40  o 
DO 

an  Ohio  mound,  together,  two  handles  of  antler,  in  one  of  which  had  been  inserted 
a splinter  of  bone  and  in  the  other  a chipped  stone  point.  In  this  case,  too,  the 
method  of  fastening  was  not  evident. 

With  this  interesting  tool  found  by  us  was  a piercing  implement  of  bone,  and 
on  the  inner  side  of  the  same  arm,  in  many  fragments,  were  what  presumably  had 
been  two  long,  slender,  bone  implements  of  some  kind. 

At  the  left  leg  lay  a large  fragment  of  a bowl  which  had  been  of  considerable 
size,  in  which  were  forty-seven  pebbles  and  chips  of  Hint  and  one  slab  of  conglom- 
erate. Resting  on  these  fragments  of  stone  were  seventeen  tines  of  antler  ranging 
in  length  between  1.7  inch  and  3.25  inches,  carefully  worked  down  and  blunt  at 
each  end.  These  probably  represent  a preliminary  stage  in  the  manufacture  of 
handles  for  small  tools.  Professor  Putnam  also  found  together  a number  of  handles 
of  antler  in  connection  with  the  tools  we  have  referred  to,  though  the  handles  found 
by  him  were  in  a more  advanced  state  of  completion  than  are  ours. 

Under  the  fragment  of  howl  containing  the  handles  of  antler,  and  extending 
beyond  it,  we  found  ninety-five  pebbles  and  fragments  of  pebbles,  some  2 or  3 inches 
in  diameter,  though  most  of  them  were  much  smaller.  With  these  was  a mass  of 

red  pigment. 

Burial  No.  135,  adult,  had  a bottle  at  the  right  of 
the  skull,  a bowl  on  the  upper  part  of  the  thorax, 
and  three  Hat  implements  of  bone  with  rounded  ends, 
probably  used  in  basketry,1  lying  parallel  at  the  right  of 
the  humerus. 

Burial  No.  136,  adult,  lay  with  a pot  at  the  left 
elbow,  and  a scale  of  a gar-pike  ( Lepisosteus ),  perhaps  at 
one  time  in  use  as  an  arrowhead,  at  the  right  of  the  pelvis. 

Burial  No.  140,  adult,  had  at  the  right  elbow  part  of 
a tine  of  deer  antler,  smoothed  exteriorly  and  rounded  at 
each  end  ; also  an  implement  or  weapon  of  unusual  form, 
of  black  flint,  3.9  inches  in  length  and  1.5  inch  in  maxi- 
mum width  (Fig.  44).  At  the  right  humerus  were  : three 
piercing  implements  of  bone  ; part  of  a small  stone  celt ; 
about  two-thirds  of  the  incisor  of  a beaver ; and  a tine  of 
deer  antler  worked  down  and  hollowed  at  one  end,  prob- 
ably a tool  in  connection  with  the  beaver  tooth,  which, 
however,  was  not  found  in  place. 

Burial  No.  142,  adult,  had  at  the  left  elbow  a bottle, 
and  at  the  right  of  the  pelvis,  a mushroom-shaped  object 
of  pottery,  used  as  a modeling  tool  in  the  manufacture 
of  earthenware  vessels. 

Burial  No.  144,  adult,  had  a shell  ear-plug  at  one  side  of  the  head,  but  careful 
search  failed  to  find  its  mate  on  the  opposite  side.  However,  at  a place  where  so 

1 Cf.  Henry  AV.  Haynes.  Proc.  Boston  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  Feb.  15th,  1893,  Vol.  XXVI,  p.  31. 

55  JOURX.  A.  N.  S.  PHILA.,  VOL.  XIV. 


Fig.  44. — Point  of  black  flint. 
With  Burial  No.  140.  Brad- 
ley Place,  Ark.  (Full  size.) 


434 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


much  digging  had  been  done  down  to  skulls,  for  the  removal  of  objects  with  them, 
this  absence  has  no  significance. 

Burial  No.  145,  a child  lying  face  down,  had  at  the  neck  a roughly  triangular 
gorget  of  shell,  about  3 inches  in  length,  undecorated,  having  two  perforations  for 
suspension  at  the  broader  end.  A bowl  and  a bottle  were  at  the  right  and  at  the 
left  knee,  respectively. 

Burial  No.  147,  a child  about  seven  years  of  age,  had  near  the  skull  a pot,  and 
a conch-shell  {Fulgiir  perversion)  having  a round  hole  in  the  body  whorl  below  the 
shoulder,  for  the  insertion  of  a handle.  Tools  of  this  class  are  common  enough  in 
Florida,  but  the  discovery  of  one  so  far  north  is  of  interest.  With  the  shell  imple- 
ment was  a mussel-shell  [Unto purpuratus).  At  the  right  of  the  skull  stood  a bot- 
tle, while  at  the  left  of  the  head  was  a pot  containing  another  pot  inverted.  At  the 
neck  were  eighty-four  shell  beads  of  various  shapes  and  sizes.  At  each  side  of  the 
neck  was  a shell  ear-plug  of  the  short,  blunt-pin  type  described  by  Dumont  as  “the 
shape  of  a nail  provided  with  a head.”  1 In  this  particular  instance  each  ear-plug 
has  back  of  the  head  a groove  to  accommodate  the  encircling  lobe  of  the  ear.  A pot 
lay  at  the  right  forearm,  and  a bowl  near  the  right  femur,  having  with  it  two  mussel- 
shells,  one  of  which  is  perforated  near  the  hinge. 

Burial  No.  152,  adult,  had  a large,  decaying  mussel-shell  over  the  left  elbow, 
and  two  others,  one  notched  at  the  end,  at  the  left  humerus. 

Burial  No.  153,  a child,  had  a bowl  and  a bottle  at  the  skull,  and  at  the  neck 
a small  univalve  much  decayed. 

Burial  No.  155,  adult,  lay  with  a bowl  and  a,  bottle  at  the  right  of  the  skull. 
In  the  bowl  were  forty-eight  pebbles  and  chips  of  flint,  and  five  small,  leaf-shaped 
arrowheads  of  the  same  material.  On  these  were  three  sections  of  tines  of  deer 
antler,  probably  intended  for  tool  handles.  At  the  right  shoulder  was  a bowl  con- 
taining a bit  of  sandstone  and  having  a nodule  of  Hint  nearby.  Near  the  left  hand 
were  a bowl  and  a piercing  implement  of  bone,  with  the  remains  of  what  probably 
had  been  a similar  implement. 

Burial  No.  157,  adult,  had  at  the  right  shoulder  a handsome  chisel  wrought 
from  a Hint  pebble,  and  fragments  of  a bone  implement.  At  the  right  of  the  skull 
was  a pot. 

Burial  No.  160,  adult,  had  a shell  ear-plug  near  the  skull.  The  opposite  side 
of  the  cranium  had  been  dug  down  to  and  rifled  by  a previous  digger. 

Burial  No.  174,  adult,  lying  face  down,  had  a bowl  at  the  left  of  the  skull  and 
a pot  resting  on  the  back.  Near  the  pelvis  was  a piercing  implement  of  bone. 

While  digging  at  the  Bradley  Place  we  came  upon  a fire-place  which  at  one 
end  was  within  about  8 inches  of  the  surface,  but  sloped  downward  to  a depth  of 
1.5  feet  approximately.  Below  this  fire-place  was  a pit  about  2 feet  in  depth,  in 
which,  mingled  with  the  soil  and  scattered  here  and  there,  were  numerous  frag- 
ments of  china  and  of  glass,  and  the  metal  part  of  a fork  with  two  tines. 

1 Cited  by  John  R.  Swanton.  “ Indian  Tribes  of  the  Lower  Mississippi  Valley.”  Bulletin  43, 
Bur.  Am.  Ethn.,  p.  55. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


435 


We  do  not  know  if  this  fire-place  had  been  used  by  Indians  or  not.  At  the 
Bradley  Place  was  abundant  evidence  of  aboriginal  intercourse  with  the  whites. 
This  fire-place,  however,  was  not  accompanied  with  masses  ol  baked  clay  as  aborig- 
inal fire-places  often  are. 

Prof.  F.  A.  Lucas  kindly  has  identified  bones  belonging  to  the  following  lower 
animals,  found  by  us  while  digging  at  the  Bradley  Place:  Dog  (Cams  familiar  is), 
Red  fox  ( Vidpes fulvus),  Florida  otter  (Lutra  canadensis  vaga),  Black  bear  (Ursns 
americanus),  Bison  (Bison  bison),  Beaver  (Castor  canadensis ),  Swan  (Olor  amem- 
canits ),  Canada  goose  (Brant a canadensis). 


Fig.  45. — Vessel  No.  28.  Earthenware  bottle  having  opening  plugged  with  clay.  Bradley  Place,  Ark.  (Height  6.8  inches.) 

Two  hundred  and  fifty-eight  vessels  of  earthenware,  most  of  them  undecorated, 
and  great  numbers  crushed  to  fragments,  were  found  by  us  at  the  Bradley  Place, 
all  but  six  with  burials,  and  usually  near  the  skulls,  the  greatest  number  with  one 
burial  being  nine.  In  or  near  some  of  the  vessels  were  mussel-shells  ( Unio ) which 
had  been  used  as  spoons,  some  of  the  shells  being  smoothed  at  one  side  and  a few 
notched  at  one  end.  Shells  sometimes  had  been  placed  across  the  openings  of 
bottles. 


436 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


The  earthenware  found  by  us  at  the  Bradley  Place  does  not  equal  in  point  of 
interest  that  from  some  other  sites  in  the  Middle  Mississippi  region,  and  includes 
few  of  the  rarer  forms.  The  ware,  sometimes  with  shell  tempering  and  sometimes 
without  it,  is  occasionally  of  fair  quality.  It  is  practically  without  incised  decora- 
tion and  the  use  of  pigment  is  evident  on  it  in  but  nine  instances.  Of  these  nine 
examples,  four  are  vessels  originally  having  had  a uniform  coating  of  red  pigment  ; 
two  have  simple  designs  in  red  on  yellow  ware ; two,  decoration  in  red  and  cream 
color;  and  one,  in  red,  cream,  and  black. 

The  following  vessels  are  worthy  especial  description  : 

Vessel  No.  28.  This  vessel,  or  rather  the  body  of  a bottle,  (Fig.  45),  lay  at  a 
fire-place.  It  was  also  about  one  foot  from  a burial,  but  this  proximity  presumably 
was  adventitious. 


Fig.  46. — Vessel  No.  94.  Bradley  Place,  Ark.  (Height  8.3  inches.) 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


437 


The  bottle  had  been  of  yellow  ware,  and  had  possessed  three  feet  which,  hol- 
low, had  been  joined  to  the  body  of  the  bottle  after  the  body  itself  had  been  com- 
pleted. A circular  implement  had  been  used  to  punch  holes  through  the  base  of 
the  bottle  to  enable  the  feet  to  share  in  the  holding  capacity  of  the  body. 

The  most  interesting  feature  of  the  bottle,  however,  is  that  having  lost  its  neck, 
a mass  of  clay  had  been  in  part  forced  down  through  the  opening  where  the  neck 
had  been  and  in  part  spread  over  surrounding  portions  of  the  body.  The  mass  of 
clay  was  then  fired  to  some  extent,  leaving  the  part  within  the  bottle  very  imper- 
fectly baked,  while  the  exterior  portion  is  more  thoroughly  fired. 


Fig.  47. — Vessel  No.  87.  Bradley  Place,  Ark.  (Height  5.9  inches.) 


The  entire  mass  of  clay  was  withdrawn  by  us  from  the  bottle  only  after  con- 
siderable effort,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  closing  of  the  open  space  had  been 
intended  to  be  permanent,  possibly  with  a view  to  the  reversal  of  the  original  posi- 
tion of  the  vessel,  the  contents  to  be  allowed  to  escape  through  the  orifices  where 
the  feet  had  been.  It  is  possible  this  was  the  work  of  children. 

Vessel  No.  94.  This  interesting  bottle,  shown  in  Fig.  46,  presents  a rather 
novel  feature,  namely,  the  representation  of  the  human  head,  the  circular  opening 
of  the  bottle  taking  the  place  of  the  mouth. 

Vessel  No.  87.  A human  effigy  bottle  (Fig.  47)  presenting  no  feature  of  espe- 
cial interest  and  shown  merely  as  a specimen  of  effigy  vessels  from  this  place.  A 
line  of  small  protuberances  extending  down  the  back  are  designed  to  represent 


438 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


the  presence  of  vertebrae  beneath  the  flesh,  a common  feature  in  this  class  of  ves- 
sels. The  legs  extend  parallel  backward  under  the  body. 

Vessel  No.  156,  another  human  effigy  bottle,  is  somewhat  more  interesting 
than  the  preceding  one  on  account  of  the  peculiar  arrangement  of  the  hair  or  head- 
dress, which  differs  on  the  two  sides  (Fig.  48). 


Fig.  48. — Vessel  No.  156.  Bradley  Place,  Ark.  (Height  7.75  inches.) 

Vessel  No.  67.  A bottle,  7.3  inches  in  height,  with  globular  body,  having  as 
decoration  three  designs  based  on  the  swastika,  shown  in  red  on  a ground  of  cream 
color.  This  design  was  much  in  vogue  in  parts  of  the  Middle  Mississippi  Valley 
region.  Almost  exactly  similar  decoration  is  shown  by  Holmes,1  and  in  various 
plates  of  our  report  on  aboriginal  sites  of  the  St.  Francis  river,  Ark.2  The  neck  of 

1 William  H.  Holmes.  “Aboriginal  Pottery  of  Eastern  United  States,”  PI.  XLIa  and  b. 
Twentieth  An.  Rep.  Bur.  Am.  Ethn. 

2 Op.  cit. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


439 


this  bottle,  2 inches  in  height  and  3.3  inches  in  width,  has  had  a decoration  in  red 
pigment,  now  almost  obliterated. 

Vessel  No.  119.  A bottle  5.8  inches  in  height,  with  a rather  short,  wide  neck, 
having  in  relief  on  one  side,  the  head  and  fore-legs  of  a frog,  and  on  the  opposite 
side,  the  hind-legs. 

Vessel  No.  127.  Such  parts  of  this  bottle  as  were  found  by  us  consisted  of 
sixty-eight  fragments,  which  have  been  cemented  together,  with  restoration  of 
other  parts  which,  however,  were  not  essential  in  order  to  determine  any  feature 
belonging  to  the  bottle  (Fig.  49).  This  vessel  is  of  considerable  interest  in  that  it 
is  evidently  shown  as  enclosed  in  a network  of  cord,  which  suggests  the  manner  in 
which  it  is  likely  bottles  sometimes  were  carried. 


Fig.  49. — Vessel  Xo.  127.  Bradley  Place,  Ark.  (Height  7.6  inches.) 


440  SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 

Vessel  No.  182.  A bottle  (Fig.  50)  which  has  an  engraved  design  based  on  the 
swastika,  with  an  addition  often  found  in  decoration  having  a mythological  signifi- 
cance among  the  aborigines  of  southern  United  States,  and  probably  derived  from 
the  crested  serpent.  This  bottle  is  of  interest  in  that  it  comes  from  a region  where 
engraved  decoration  is  less  frequently  encountered  than  is  the  case  farther  to  the 
southward. 


Fig.  50. — Vessel  No.  182.  Bradley  Place,  Ark.  (Height  8.6  inches.) 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


441 


Vessel  No.  134.  A bottle  having  in  relief  on  one  side  a modeled  head  of  a 
frog  and  on  the  opposite  side  a tail  (Fig.  51).  The  reader  will  recall  that  in  aborig- 
inal art  in  the  United  States,  the  frog  usually  is  represented  with  a tail. 


Fig.  51. — Vessel  No.  134.  Bradley  Place,  Ark.  (Height  5. ‘25  inches.) 


Vessel  No.  84.  A pot,  the  body  of  which  is  surrounded  by  vertical  depres- 
sions. From  one  side  projects  the  modeled  head  of  some  animal.  A tail  which 
has  been  on  the  opposite  side  is  missing.  On  two  sides,  opposed  to  each  other,  are 
two  disks  in  relief  (Fig.  52). 

Vessel  No.  38.  This  bowl  (Fig.  53)  belongs  to  a class  specimens  of  which 
often  are  found  in  the  Middle  Mississippi  region.  It  is  interesting  only  in  that  the 
animal  head  is  represented  with  expanded  jaws,  an  unusual,  though  not  a unique 
feature. 

Vessel  No.  187.  This  bottle  (Fig.  54)  is  somewhat  similar  in  shape  to  one 
figured  by  Holmes1  as  coming  from  Arkansas.  The  body  is  surrounded  by  vertical 
corrugations  which,  at  one  time,  have  been  coated  with  red  and  white  alternately. 
The  neck,  slightly  flaring  at  the  opening,  has  been  covered  with  alternate,  horizon- 
tal bands  of  white  and  of  red.  A beaded  collar  surrounds  the  union  of  the  neck 
with  the  body,  and  a similar  decoration  adorns  the  margin  of  the  base. 

1 Op.  cit.,  PL  XVb. 

56  JOUEN.  A.  N.  S.  PHILA.,  VOL.  XIV. 


442 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Fig.  52. — Vessel  No.  84.  Bradley  Place,  Ark. 


(Height  4.8  inches.) 


Fig.  53. — Vessel  No.  38.  Bradley  Place,  Ark.  (Height  of  bowl  4.25  inches.) 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


443 


Fig.  54. — Vessel  No.  187.  Bradley  Place,  Ark.  (Height  7.9  inches.) 

Vessel  No.  131.  This  rather  curious  vessel  (Fig.  55)  has  a conventional  tail 
extending  from  one  side,  and  from  the  opposite  side  a head  so  highly  conventional- 
ized that  it  consists  merely  of  a knob  adorned  with  encircling  lines. 

Vessel  No.  90.  In  Fig.  56  is  shown  a bowl  of  light  brown  ware,  having  on  one 
side  a knob,  and  on  the  opposite  side  a projection  about  one  inch  in  length,  some- 
what resembling  a spout  of  the  kind  found  on  vessels  of  the  “teapot”  class,  though 
this  one  is  much  shorter  than  are  spouts  on  vessels  of  the  type  noted.  This  rudi- 
mentary spout,  if  such  it  be,  is  solid,  though  at  the  extremity  a shallow  depression 
has  been  made  on  it.  On  the  opposite  side  from  the  spout  is  the  knob  usually 
found  on  “teapot”  vessels  when  they  are  not  animal  forms,  and  which,  by  the  way, 
is  often  found  on  vessels  representing  gourds. 


444 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 


Fig.  55. — Vessel  No.  131.  Bradley  Place.  Ark.  (Height  3.3  inches.) 


Fig.  56. — Vessel  No.  90.  Bradley  Place,  Ark.  (Diam.  7.5  inches.) 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


445 


Vessel  No.  158.  In  our  description  of  the  site  at  Pecan  Point  in  this  report 
we  have  occasion  to  refer  to  a symbol,  the  meaning  of  which  is  problematical,  and 
which  sometimes  appears  as  the  outline  of  bowls.  We  have  here  in  Fig.  57  a bowl 
which,  instead  of  being  given  the  outline  of  this  symbol,  which  usually  has  two 
points  projecting  vertically,  has  the  points  doubled  in  number  and  equidistantly 
placed  about  the  rim. 


Fig.  57. — Vessel  No.  158.  Bradley  Place,  Ark.  (Diam.  10.2  inches.) 


446 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Fig.  58. — Vessel  No.  69.  Bradley  Place,  Ark.  (Diam.  10  inches.) 


Fig.  59. — Vessel  No.  215.  Bradley  Place,  Ark. 
(Height  3.7  inches.) 


1 Op.  cit.,  PI.  Xlg. 


Vessel  No.  69.  The  bowl  shown 
in  Fig.  58  is  decorated  interiorly  with 
an  engraved  design  of  mediocre  ex- 
cellence, presenting  a triskelion  cen- 
trally placed  and  surrounded  by 
groups  of  festooned  lines. 

Vessel  No.  215.  This  pot  of 
brown  ware  (Fig.  59)  has  an  inter- 
esting decoration  made  up  of  small 
nodes  thickly  placed.  A somewhat 
similar  vessel  is  figured  by  Holmes 1 
as  coming  from  Arkansas. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


447 


Pecan  Point,  Mississippi  County,  Ark. 

Pecan  Point,  on  Mississippi  river,  forms  the  southeastern  corner  of  Mississippi 
County,  which  is  the  northernmost  county  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  bordering 
Mississippi  river. 

Pecan  Point  has  been  celebrated  for  many  years  for  the  number  of  aboriginal 
antiquities  found  there  during  the  building  of  levees  and  in  cultivation.  In  addi- 
tion, much  successful  work  was  done  at  this  place  for  the  Bureau  of  American 
Ethnology,  and  for  the  Davenport  Academy  of  Natural  Science,  of  Davenport,  Iowa, 
the  results  of  which  are  described  in  various  reports1  of  the  Bureau  of  American 
Ethnology.  It  was  at  this  place  that  the  first  of  the  interesting  class  of  head  ves- 
sels was  found. 

The  warm  thanks  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  are  tendered  Mr.  R, 
W.  Friend,  of  Pecan  Point,  who  cordially  put  his  large  plantations  there  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Academy  for  investigation,  in  the  most  unreserved  way. 

About  one  mile  above  the  main  settlement  at  Pecan  Point,  though  still  in  its 
outskirts,  a short  distance  from  the  river,  is  a mound  which  has  been  used  as  a 
cemetery  in  recent  times.  This  mound,  which  has  suffered  some  in  shape  in  the 
lapse  of  years,  is  about  12  feet  in  height  and  is  approximately  square  with  rounded 
corners,  its  sides  nearly  facing  the  cardinal  points.  The  basal  diameter  is  about 
110  feet;  that  of  the  summit-plateau,  50  feet,  approximately.  Apparently  a cause- 
way connected  the  mound  with  the  level  ground  in  former  times. 

A short  distance  from  this  mound  (which  probably  was  domiciliary  and  was 
not  dug  into  by  us)  is  the  northwestern  corner  of  a large  field  which  has  been  long 
under  cultivation,  and  part  of  which,  judging  from  the  quantity  of  aboriginal  debris 
scattered  over  the  surface,  must  have  been  a dwelling-site  for  a considerable  period 
in  early  times.  This  field,  we  were  told  by  Mr.  Friend,  was  where  the  digging 
previous  to  our  own  had  been  carried  on.  Since  then,  however,  that  part  of  the 
field  in  which  aboriginal  burials  are  found  lias  been  curtailed  by  the  building  of 
new  levees. 

Although  so  much  former  investigation  had  been  carried  on  at  Pecan  Point, 
we  felt  the  place  still  offered  an  excellent  opportunity  to  the  archaeologist,  since  it 
is  plain  that  neither  by  digging  trial-holes  nor  by  the  use  of  sounding-rods  can  an 
aboriginal  site  of  any  size  be  entirely  cleared  of  relics,  and  those  using  only  rods 
for  the  discovery  of  vessels  (as  did  those  who  preceded  us,  we  were  told),  of  neces- 
sity leave  behind  the  vessels  that  are  deeply  buried  and  all  those  over  which  are 
fire-places  of  hardened  clay,  through  which  rods  cannot  pass. 

i Will  iam  H.  Hoi  me?.  “Illustrated  Catalogue  of  a Portion  of  the  Ethnologic  and  Arclueologic 
Collections  Made  by  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  during  the  year  1881,”  p.  469  et  seq.  Third  An.  Rep. 
Bur.  Ethn. 

William  H.  Holmes.  “Ancient  Pottery  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,”  passim.  Fourth  An.  Rep. 

Bur.  Ethn. 

Cyrus  Thomas.  “Mound  Explorations,”  p.  219  et  seq.  Twelfth  An.  Rep.  Bur.  Ethn.  This 
account  contains  a plan  of  the  aboriginal  mound  and  site  at  Pecan  Point. 

William  H.  Holmes.  “Aboriginal  Pottery  of  Eastern  United  States,”  p.  98  et  al.  Twentieth 
An.  Rep.  Bur.  Am.  Ethn. 


448 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Those  relying  on  rods  alone,  even  in  the  absence  of  fire-places  miss  much  pot- 
tery, and  many  skeletons  (which  often  indicate  the  presence  of  pottery)  which, 
softened  by  long  exposure  to  damp,  offer  little  resistance  to  pointed  rods  of  steel. 

Nevertheless,  the  activities  of  former  searchers  are  a distinct  detriment  to  the 
archaeologist  seeking  exact  data,  as  no  definite  determination  can  be  arrived  at  as 
to  the  average  number  of  vessels  placed  with  burials  in  any  particular  site,  since, 
as  we  know,  these  seekers  after  pottery  were  accustomed,  after  ascertaining  the 
position  of  vessels,  to  dig  down  to  them  and  to  effect  their  removal,  leaving  the 
skeletons  behind. 

Our  digging  at  Pecan  Point  occupied  fourteen  and  one-half  days  of  eight  hours 
each,  with  a force  of  nine  men  to  handle  the  spades  and  four  men  to  supervise. 
The  work  was  done  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  field,  to  which  reference  has 
been  made,  and  the  area  searched  extended  from  the  northwest  corner  of  the  field, 
a distance  of  162  paces  along  the  northern  side,  and  had  a breadth  of  89  paces  at 
the  western  end,  where  the  fence  meets  that  of  the  northern  side  at  a moderately 
acute  angle,  and  covered  all  that  part  of  the  field  on  which  signs  of  aboriginal  oc- 
cupancy were  apparent.  In  addition,  a small  garden  and  some  territory  adjoining 
it,  all  of  which  were  contiguous  to  the  area  already  specified,  were  dug  through  by 
us,  with  considerable  success. 

Search  elsewhere  in  the  field  was  not  rewarded. 

Our  quest  consisted  of  sinking  trial-holes  at  random,  since  inequalities  of  sur- 
face, which  might  have  guided  us  had  they  been  present,  were  no  longer  apparent, 
and  prolonged  drought  had  hardened  the  soil  to  such  an  extent  that  the  use  of 
sounding-rods  was  not  effective. 

O 

The  soil  in  which  burials  were  lay  upon  alluvial  deposit  and  was  composed  of 
ground  darkened  by  admixture  of  organic  matter  in  which  were  ashes  and  dwelling- 
site  debris.  Fire-places  at  various  depths  were  encountered  at  intervals. 

The  depth  of  this  made-ground  varied  in  places.  The  deepest  burial  found 
(which  lay  4 feet  6 inches  below  the  surface)  was  still  in  it.  Often,  however,  the 
depth  of  this  artificial  soil  did  not  exceed  3 feet. 

Three  hundred  and  forty-nine  burials  were  encountered  at  the  Pecan  Point  site, 
as  follows  : 

Adults  and  adolescents,  257 

Infants  and  children,  58 

Disturbances1  caused  by  interfering  graves,  in  aboriginal  times,  and  by  recent 
cultivation  and  search,  34 

The  forms  of  burial  of  the  adults  and  of  the  adolescents  were  as  follows  : 

Extended  on  the  back,  adults,  227;  adolescents,  21,  248 

Extended  face  down,  adults,  4 ; adolescent,  1,  5 

Partly  flexed  on  the  right  side,  adolescent,  1 

1 In  case  of  serious  disturbances  such  as  those  noted  here,  no  determination  as  to  age  was  made. 
Slight  disturbances,  such  as  the  loss  to  the  skeleton  of  an  arm  or  of  a foot,  were  ignored  in  the  classifi- 
cation. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


449 


Partly  flexed  on  the  left  side,  adults,  2;  adolescent,  1,  3 

There  was  no  fixed  orientation  of  the  burials  at  this  place,  heads  being  directed 
toward  various  points  of  the  coinpass. 

Although  considerable  age  must  be  accorded  the  burials  at  Pecan  Point,  since 
nothing  in  any  way  indicating  contact  with  white  persons  was  found  there,  yet 
possibly  owing  to  the  quantity  of  ashes  in  the  made-ground  in  which  the  burials 
lay,  which  would  act  as  a preservative,  the  skeletal  remains  were  in  an  excellent 
state  of  preservation,  enabling  us  to  obtain  there  forty-eight  skulls  and  other  skele- 
tal remains,  which  were  included  in  our  gift  to  the  National  Museum. 

An  interesting  pathological  specimen  was  met  with  : Burial  No.  69,  the  skele- 
ton of  an  adult,  had  a badly  united  fracture  in  the  upper  fourth  of  the  left  femur, 
with  anterior  displacement  of  the  upper  fragment. 

On  the  surface,  where  they  had  been  ploughed  up,  and  in  the  soil  of  the  dwell- 
ing-site, were  many  flint  chisels  which  had  been  made  from  pebbles,  often  ones 
especially  selected  owing  to  a shape  which  lent  itself  to  the  making  of  a chisel 
with  a minimum  amount  of  chipping.  Some  chisels,  however,  were  made  from 
pebbles  broken  in  two  or  from  which  considerable  parts  had  been  removed.  After 
the  pebbles  had  been  chipped  to  the  required  shape,  they  were  ground  somewhat, 
especially  on  both  sides  at  one  end,  to  confer  a cutting  edge.  In  Fig.  60  is  shown 
a selected  pebble;  one  chipped  and  ready  for  grinding;  and  a completed  chisel. 
In  the  Third  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology1  is  shown  one  of  the 
chisels  from  Pecan  Point. 

Also  scattered  throughout  the  made-ground  were  numerous  small,  flint  arrow- 
points, whole  or  in  various  stages  of  completion  ; one  large  projectile-point  or  knife 
of  flint,  made  with  a single  barb,  a type  well  known  as  coming  from  parts  of 
Arkansas,  Louisiana  and  elsewhere ; several  celts  of  moderate  size,  one  of  these  of 
fine-grained  sandstone,  another  probably  of  metamorphic  rock;  a small,  flat  mass 
of  bituminous  coal ; a few,  rude,  discoidal  stones  made  from  pebbles  originally  flat ; 
many  flat,  circular  pebbles  not  artificially  shaped  ; numerous  disks  made  from  frag- 
ments of  pottery  vessels,  some  centrally  perforated  ; a tube  of  bone  with  an  encir- 
cling groove  near  one  end ; a shell  of  a cretaceous  fossil  ( Exogyra  cos/a/a)  which 
occurs  in  western  Arkansas ; two  scales  of  the  gar-pike,  such  as  Du  Pratz  says  were 
used  as  arrowpoints  by  the  Mississippi  Indians;  three  mussel-shells  found  one 
within  the  other,  two  of  which,  probably  belonging  to  the  same  shell-fish  [Unto 
anadontoides ),  had  been  carefully  worked  to  a point  at  one  end  ; an  astragalus  of 
an  elk  and  three  belonging  to  Virginia  deer,  all  showing  workmanship  to  enable 
them  to  be  used  as  dice  in  a game  ; in  a little  pile  together,  five  wing-bones  belong- 
ing to  the  wild  swan,  the  wild  goose,  and  the  wild  turkey.  We  have  spoken  before 
of  the  curious  custom  at  the  Rhodes  Place,  the  Bradley  Place  and  at  Pecan  Point, 
to  put  near  or  with  the  dead,  metacarpal  bones  of  birds  of  considerable  size.  The 
evidences  of  this  custom  were  especially  noticeable  at  Pecan  Point,  but  here,  how- 
ever, each  occurrence  was  not  recorded  by  us  as  the  bones  sometimes  were  too 
badly  crushed  and  decayed  for  identification. 

1 P.  470,  Fig.  142. 

57  JOURN.  A.  N.  S.  PH1LA.,  VOL.  XIV. 


450 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Fig.  60. — The  flint  pebble  to  the  left  in  the  illustration  is  one  of  the  kind  often  selected  by  the  aborigines  on  account  of  a 
suitable  shape  from  which  to  make  chisels.  The  middle  pebble,  showing  chipping,  illustrates  the  intermediate  stage 
in  the  work.  On  the  right  is  shown  the  finished  chisel  having  a ground  cutting-edge.  All  from  Pecan  Point,  Ark. 
(F nil  size.) 


The  head  of  a long-bone  found  in  midden  debris  at  this  jdace  has  been  identi 
fied  by  Prof.  F.  A.  Lucas  as  having  belonged  to  a bison. 


Fig.  61. — Pipe  of  earthenware.  With  Burial  No.  4.  Pecan 
Point,  Ark.  (Height  2.25  inches.) 


We  shall  now  consider  all  burials 
at  Pecan  Point,  which  were  accompa- 
nied with  artifacts  other  than  pottery 
vessels,  but  shall  refer  also  to  such 
vessels  as  were  with  these  particular 
burials.  The  form  of  burial  of  adults 
and  of  adolescents,  in  each  case,  unless 
otherwise  specified,  was  extended  on 
the  back. 

Burial  No.  2,  adult,  had  a wing- 
bone  of  a turkey  at  the  left  ear,  and 
a leaf-shaped  projectile  point  of  flint 
near  the  head.  At  the  face  was  a bowl, 
and  a bottle  was  at  the  right  shoulder. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


451 


Burial  No.  4,  adult,  had  a bottle  at  the  right  side  of  the  skull  and  a bowl  at 
the  right  shoulder.  Near  the  head  was  an  earthenware  pipe  having  on  two  sides 
a decoration  based  on  the  swastika,  with  spiral  arms,  and  in  front  an  incised  repre- 
sentation possibly  of  the  head  of  a deer  with  antlers,  or  of  a human  head  sur- 
mounted with  plumes  (Fig.  61). 

Burial  No.  13,  a child,  had  three  shell  beads  at  the  neck,  a discoidal  stone  at 
the  left  thigh.  Near  the  stone  was  the  wing-bone1  of  a bird.  With  this  burial 
also  was  an  astragalus  of  an  elk,  smoothed  as  to  some  of  the  sides,  for  use  in 
a game. 


Burial  No.  25,  a child,  had  at  the  right  forearm  a bowl;  at  the  right  thigh,  a 
bottle.  Some  limonite,  doubtless  used  as  yellow  pigment,  was  with  this  burial. 

Burial  No.  28,  a child,  had  in  addition  to  a pot:  two  dumb-bell  shaped  beads 
of  shell;  two  shell  ear-plugs  of  different  sizes;  a flat,  oblong,  shell  bead  with  cres- 
centic excisions  in  four  sides,  and  two  central  perforations. 

Burial  No.  33,  adult,  had  a bottle  at  the  feet,  a bowl  at  the  ankles,  and,  at  the 
left  shoulder,  three  carefully  made  implements  of  split  bone,  each  rounded  at  one 
end,  probably  for  use  in  basketry. 

Burial  No.  40,  a child,  had  a worked  astragalus  of  a deer  near  the  head,  and, 
on  the  pelvis,  a bottle,  a bowl,  and  a toy  vessel  representing  a frog. 

Burial  No.  56,  an  adult,  had  in  association  near  the  head,  a bottle  and  a bowl. 
A small,  flint  arrowpoint  rested  on  a dorsal  vertebra. 

Burial  No.  60,  an  aboriginal  disturbance  of  the  skeleton  of  a well-grown  child, 
the  skeleton  being  present  only  from  the  pelvis  up.  This  burial  had  no  fewer  than 
eleven  vessels  arranged  around  the  remaining  parts.  In  addition,  shell  beads,  some 
round,  some  flat,  and  an  ear-plug  of  shell  lay  in  place  at  each  side  of  the  head. 

The  ear-plugs  found  by  us  in  the  site  at  Pecan 
Point,  with  one  exception  which  will  be  noted 
later,  belong  to  the  well-known  class  which 
somewhat  resemble  a mushroom  in  shape, 
though  the  head  extends  slightly  more  to  one 
side  than  it  does  to  the  other.  This  class  of 
ear-plugs  have  the  shaft  cut  from  the  parietal 
wall  of  a large,  marine  univalve  ( Fiilgur ),  and 
the  head  from  parts  to  either  side  of  the  suture, 
as  we  have  already  explained  in  this  report. 

To  return  to  Burial  No.  60.  With  the 
beads,  evidently  a pendant  with  the  necklace, 

Fig. 62. — Ornaments  made  from  spires  of  marine  WaS  !l  ca”ine  tooth  of  a panther,  grooved  at  Olie 

sheUs.  with  Eunai  x°.  6°.  Pecan  Point,  en(j  for  suspension.  On  the  forehead  of  the 

Ark.  (Full  size.)  l 


1 At  Pecan  Point,  in  addition  to  the  wing-bones  found  and  recorded  as  belonging  to  particular 
burials,  six  other  wing-bones  were  unearthed,  some  of  which  were  with  burials  and  some  apart  from 
them,  presumably  through  disturbance.  We  cannot  say  with  what  burial  any  one  of  these  bones  was 
found,  but  Prof.  F.  A.  Lucas  kindly  has  identified  the  bones  as  follows:  swan,  3 ; snow  goose,  1 ; wild 

goose,  1 : wild  duck,  1. 

© 7 7 


452 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


skull  lay  a flint  knife.  Also  with  the  beads  was  a pendant  consisting  of  a small 
conch-shell  ( Fulgur  perversion ),  perforated  at  the  beak  for  suspension,  and  three 
ornaments  made  from  spires  of  small  conch-shells,  each  with  two  perforations 


Burial  No.  74,  adult,  had,  in  addition  to  a water  bottle,  two  pairs  of  shell  ear- 
plugs. Shell  beads  were  at  the  neck. 

Burial  No.  82,  an  adolescent,  lying  partly  flexed  on  the  left  side,  had,  at  the 
right  of  the  pelvis,  a bottle  and  a bowl  containing  another  bowl  in  which  was  a pot, 
all  upright.  Alongside  these  was  a bowl  within  a bowl,  both  vertically  placed. 
Shell  beads  were  at  the  neck  and  a shell  ear-plug  at  each  side  of  the  head. 

Burial  No.  85,  adult,  had  red  pigment  near  the  skull  and  a bone  implement 
with  flat,  rounded  end,  similar  to  those  already  described,  lying  at  the  right 
humerus.  At  the  left  of  the  skull  and  at  the  left  shoulder,  respectively,  were  two 
vessels. 

Burial  No.  101,  a child,  had  a bowl  and  a bottle,  also  many  small,  flint  chips 
and  a single  shell  bead  near  the  skull. 

Burial  No.  104,  a child,  had  with  it  a wing-bone  of  a snow  goose  and  the  penis 
bone  of  a raccoon.  Raccoon  bones  of  this  kind  are  sometimes  found  sharpened  at 
the  distal  end  for  use  as  awls,  but  in  this  case,  while  the  distal  end  is  intact,  the 
bulbous,  or  proximal,  end  is  perforated  as  for  suspension,  though  it  is  hard  to  see  to 
what  use  the  object  could  have  been  put.  Possibly  the  perforation  was  placed  in  a 
bone  intended  for  an  awl  which,  for  some  reason,  was  left  unfinished.  In  a Ken- 
tucky site1  was  found  a similar  bone  of  a raccoon,  perforated  at  the  proximal  end 
and  without  a point  at  the  opposite  extremity. 


Fig.  63. — From  left  to  right:  astragalus  of  deer,  of  elk,  and  of  bison,  smoothed  for  use  as  dice.  With  Burial  Xo.  104. 
Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Height  of  largest  astragalus,  2.4  inches.) 


Near  the  skull  was  red  pigment,  and  over  the  left  forearm,  the  left  humerus, 
and  the  right  shoulder,  respectively,  were  a bowl,  a bottle,  and  a bowl.  Small 
shell  beads  were  at  the  neck.  At  the  left  of  the  skull  was  a handsome  discoidal 
of  limonite  with  a secondary  ferruginous  coating. 

1 Hatlau  I.  Smith.  “The  Prehistoric  Ethnology  of  a Kentucky  Site,”  Plate  XL1I  5.  Anthro- 
pological Papers  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  Vol.  VI,  Part  2. 


(Fig.  62) 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


453 


Lying  together,  with  this  burial,  was  an  interesting  set  of  three  astragali  (Fig. 
63)  identified  by  Prof.  F.  A.  Lucas  as  belonging  to  bison,  elk,  and  deer,  respectively. 
These  astragali  had  been  carefully  smoothed  in  places  and  are  of  the  kind  found 
by  us  on  the  river  from  the  Rhodes  Place  northward.  The  reader  is  doubtless 
aware  that  unworked  astragali,  or  knuckle-bones,  are  very  commonly  found  in 
aboriginal  sites,  and  that  such  bones  were  used  in  games,  but  the  finding  of  astragali 
in  aboriginal  sites  in  the  United  States,  carefully  smoothed  as  to  certain  parts  to 
facilitate  their  use,  presumably  as  dice,  is  unusual  and  possibly  has  not  been 
reported  before. 

We  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Charles  C.  Willoughby  for  the  information  that  the 
only  worked  astragalus  (with  sides  ground)  that  he  recalls  in  the  Peabody  Museum, 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  belongs  to  an  ox  and  recently  was  obtained  from  Indians  of 
Patagonia. 

Mr.  Culin  1 figures  the  astragalus  of  a bison  which  was  used  as  a die  by  Papago 
Indians  of  Arizona.  This  astragalus,  however,  shows  no  workmanship. 

Mr.  Culin,  who  was  on  the  point  of  starting  on  a protracted  journey,  kindly 
furnished,  at  our  request,  the  following  note  as  to  worked  astragali.  Subsequently, 
after  his  departure,  he  sent  a second  note  on  the  subject,  which  also  we  include. 
Presumably,  had  it  been  possible  for  us  to  reach  Mr.  Culin,  the  two  notes,  perhaps, 
with  modification,  would  have  appeared  as  one. 

Mr.  Culin  in  his  first  note  says  : 

“I  have  carefully  examined  the  worked  astragalus  from  Pecan  Point,  Arkan- 
sas. I have  never  seen  or  heard  of  worked  astragali  being  employed  for  any  pur- 
pose among  the  North  American  Indians.  Unworked  knuckle-bones,  either  small 
ones  of  sheep  or  deer,  or  large  bones  of  the  ox  were  used  recently  as  dice  by  a 
number  of  tribes  in  widely  separated  localities.  I have  described  the  astragalus  of 
a bison  collected  by  Dr.  W.  J.  McGee,  from  the  Papago  who  employed  it  in  a game. 
I have  collected  knuckle-bones  used  as  dice  from  several  tribes,  notably  the  Porno 
and  Maidu  in  California,  who  both  have  two  games,  one  played  with  the  knuckle- 
bones of  sheep,  goats  or  deer,  and  the  other  with  a single  large  bone  from  an  ox. 
These  games  are  counted  with  sticks  and  are  played  like  the  stick  dice  game,  but 
it  is  not  unlikely  that  they  were  borrowed  from  the  Spaniards. 

“ The  Indians  used  small  unworked  knuckle-bones,  as  well  as  other  small 
heavy  bones,  as  weights  on  whirling  toys,  being  tied  in  the  middle  of  a sinew  cord. 
It  may  be  that  the  objects  you  found  were  used  as  dice.  It  is  possible,  but  the 
evidence  is  inconclusive.” 

Mr.  Gulin’s  second  note  is  as  follows: 

‘•The  only  worked  knuckle-bone  [astragalus]  in  the  Field  Museum  of  Natural 
History  [Chicago,  111.]  is  a single  perforated  specimen  of  medium  size  (llama  ?)  from 
the  necropolis  of  Caldera,  in  Chile.  It  is  associated  with  many  other  bone  objects, 
Hat  strips  of  bone,  all  similarly  perforated,  as  if  for  suspension,  and  pretty  certainly 

1 Stewart  Culin.  “ Games  of  the  North  American  Indians,”  p.  148.  Twenty-fourth  An.  Rep. 
Bur.  Am.  Ethn. 


454 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


dice.  We  have  here,  therefore,  a pre-Columbian  worked  knuckle-bone  [astragalus] 
die,  but  the  hole  is  merely  for  suspension.” 

Burial  No.  107,  adult,  had  below  the  neck,  two  beads  of  bone. 

Burial  No.  119,  adult,  had  a bottle  and  a few  shell  beads  at  the  right  humerus. 

Burial  No.  121,  adult,  had  at  the  skull  a bottle  and  a mushroom-shaped 
object  of  earthenware  of  a class  no  doubt  correctly  believed  to  be  modeling  tools 
for  pottery,  by  Holmes,1  by  Thruston2  and  by  Fowke.3 

Some  have  thought  that  objects  of  this  kind  were  used  to  cover  the  openings 
of  water  bottles,  and  in  point  of  fact  a considerable  collection  of  vessels  made  by 
modern  Indians  of  British  Guiana,  now  in  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of 
Philadelphia,  includes  numerous  bottles  with  stoppers  much  resembling  the  object 
found  by  us  at  Pecan  Point. 

However,  these  mushroom-shaped  objects  of  earthenware  from  prehistoric  sites 
in  the  United  States  as  a rule  show  considerable  wear  and,  furthermore,  are  not 
found  in  numbers  sufficient  to  warrant  their  being  considered  stoppers.  One  mod- 
eling tool  could  serve  for  many  bottles,  but  a stopper  would  be  needed  for  each  one. 
Moreover,  we  do  not  recall  having  found  at  Pecan  Point  bottles  with  necks  suffi- 
ciently slender  to  accommodate  these  mushroom-shaped  objects,  which,  by  the  way, 
we  have  found  in  regions  where  bottles  with  slender  necks  are  not  known. 

Burial  No.  124,  adolescent,  had  a pot,  a bowl,  and  a bone  implement  doubtless 
used  in  basketry. 

Burial  No.  138,  a child,  had  two  shell  beads  at  the  neck. 

Burial  No.  150,  an  aboriginal  disturbance  of  the  skeleton  of  an  adult,  had  shell 
beads  at  the  neck,  and  was  accompanied  with  two  bottles,  near  one  of  which  lay 
half  of  a flinty  concretion  that  had  been  broken  open  and  apparently  polished 
along  the  surface  of  the  fracture,  giving  the  object  the  appearance  of  a diminutive 
bowl.  At  the  right  hand  were  three  flint  chisels  and  a celt  of  the  same  material. 
A handsome  leaf-shaped  weapon  of  flint,  12.5  inches  in  length  and  having  a maxi- 
mum thickness  of  one  inch,  lay  at  the  left  humerus.  A beautiful  discoidal  stone  of 
banded  silicious  rock  was  at  the  inner  side  of  the  right  forearm,  while  a wing-bone 
of  a swan  lay  near  the  skull. 

Burial  No.  152,  adult,  was  accompanied  with  one  bottle;  near  the  skull  was 
red  pigment. 

Burial  No.  160,  adolescent,  had  near  the  skull  a bowl  in  which  were  two  flat, 
circular  pebbles.  Lying  inverted  upon  these  was  a spoon  cut  from  a mussel-shell, 
above  which  was  a large  mussel-shell.  With  this  burial  also  was  a bowl  rudely 
representing  a fish. 

Burial  No.  162,  adult,  had  at  the  right  shoulder  a ceremonial  axe  of  the  uhoe- 
shaped”  variety,  made  from  carboniferous  slate,  a material  so  soft  that  no  imple- 

1 William  H.  Holmes.  “Aboriginal  Pottery  of  Eastern  United  States,”  Plate  XXXV. 
Twentieth  An.  Rep.  Bur.  Am.  Ethn. 

2 Gates  P.  Thruston.  “Antiquities  of  Tennessee,”  Second  ed.,  p.  161,  Fig.  65. 

3 Gerard  Fowke,  citing  Cristopher  Wren.  Proc.  and  Coll.  Wyoming  Hist,  and  Geol.  Soc., 
IX,  156. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


455 


ment  intended  for  practical  use  would  be  shaped  from  it.  At  the  left  forearm  was 
a flint  chisel,  and  at  the  left  of  the  skull,  a bottle. 

Burial  No.  164,  adult,  had  as  mortuary  deposit,  a bowl,  a bottle,  and  seven 
badly  decayed  mussel-shells  arranged  in  a pile,  one  within  the  other. 

Burial  No.  167,  a child,  had  two  pots,  one  on  the  right  and  one  on  the  left 
elbow.  A bottle  was  over  the  right  shoulder.  At  each  side  of  the  head  was  a 
shell  ear-plug,  and  at  the  neck  were  a small  conch-shell  perforated  at  the  beak  for 
suspension,  and  the  spires  of  three  similar  shells  each  with  a hole  for  suspension. 
Below  the  chin,  on  the  chest,  was  a shell  gorget  of  triangular  form,  which  one 
usually  finds  decorated  with  a representation  of  a human  face.  In  this  instance, 
however,  only  holes  for  suspension  are  present.  At  the  right  forearm  were  two  dis- 
coidal  stones,  each  about  2.5  inches  in  diameter,  and  a small,  flat,  circular  pebble. 

Burial  No.  168,  adult,  had  at  the  right  of  the  skull  a tortoise  shell,  and  at  the 
left  of  it  two  bottles  and  a bowl. 

Burial  No.  171,  adolescent,  accompanied  with  seven  vessels,  one  of  which,  a 
bowl,  contained  a pot  in  which  was  an  astragalus  of  a deer,  carefully  smoothed  as 
to  some  of  its  sides.  In  the  containing  bowl  was  a small  pebble.  Another  bowl  of 
this  group  held  a pot  in  which  was  another  astragalus  of  a deer,  also  squared  for 
use  in  gaming.  At  the  right  side  of  the  pelvis  was  a piercing  implement  of  bone. 

Burial  No.  182,  a child,  in  addition  to  a bottle  and  a bowl  over  the  pelvis,  had 
on  the  chest  the  remains  of  an  undecorated  gorget  of  shell. 

Burial  No.  185,  adult,  had  near  the  skull  a bottle,  and  at  the  right  elbow  a 
bottle  and  a bowl.  Under  the  bottle  was  a flat  pebble. 

Burial  No.  188,  an  adult  with  lower  extremities  cut  away  through  aboriginal 
disturbance,  had  a cup  and  a bottle  at  the  right  humerus,  and  at  the  right  shoulder, 
a bowl.  At  the  left  shoulder  was  a perforated  disk  made  from  a fragment  of  pottery 
vessel,  and  a wing-bone  of  a bird. 

Burial  No.  202,  adult,  had  shell  ear-plugs,  one  at  each  side  of  the  head,  with  a 
perforation  for  attachment  at  the  end  of  the  shank  of  each. 

Burial  No.  222,  adult,  had  a small  quantity  of  red  pigment  near  the  skull.  A 
bowl  and  a pot  were  with  this  burial. 

Burial  No.  228,  a child,  in  addition  to  a bottle,  a pot,  a bowl,  and  a toy  pot, 
had  two  ear-plugs  of  shell,  of  the  kind  almost  universally  found  at  Pecan  Point,  but 
having  at  the  end  of  each  shank  a hole  to  fasten  the  ornament  more  securely.  In 
addition  this  burial  had  a pair  of  the  blunt-pin,  or  nail-shaped  variety  of  ear-plugs, 
short  with  rounded  head.  At  the  neck  were  shell  beads  and  a small  pendant  of 
talc  (?),  roughly  three-sided,  tapering  slightly  toward  one  end  and  having  a perfora- 
tion for  suspension. 

Burial  No.  254,  adult,  had  as  mortuary  deposit,  a bowl,  a bottle,  and  two 
shell  beads. 

Burial  No.  272,  adolescent.  One  shell  bead  lay  at  the  neck  of  this  burial, 
with  which  also  one  bottle  had  been  deposited. 

Burial  No.  300,  adult.  At  the  right  humerus  was  a leaf-shaped  weapon  of 


456 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


chipped  Hint,  5 inches  in  length,  and  at  the  right  femur,  erect,  edge  downward  as 
if  it  had  been  deposited  with  the  hand  grasping  the  handle,  was  a handsome,  choco- 
late-colored, ceremonial  axe  of  ferruginous  shale  (Fig.  64),  6.1  inches  in  length,  and 
2.6  inches  in  maximum  breadth.  In  this  axe  is  a perforation  for  attachment,  rather 
irregularly  made  by  boring  from  opposite  sides.  This  type  of  ceremonial  axe, 
oblong  in  outline,  is  seldom  encountered.  One,  of  lignite,  from  the  St.  Francis 
river,  Arkansas,  is  in  Peabody  Museum,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  and  two  were  found  by 
us  at  the  Keno  Plantation,  northern  Louisiana,  one  of  sandstone  and  one  of  meta- 
morphic  rock. 

Burial  No.  302,  adult,  had  at  the  right  elbow  a small  amount  of  red  pigment 
and  a chisel  wrought  from  a Hat  pebble,  by  sharpening  one  end.  A bowl  and  a 
bottle  lay  with  this  burial. 


Fig.  64. — Ceremonial  axe  of  ferruginous  shale.  With  Burial  No.  300.  recan  Point,  Ark.  (Full  size.) 

Burial  No.  305,  a child,  had  a small  bottle  representing  a fish,  a diminutive 
bowl  in  the  form  of  a frog,  and  a bowl  having  conventional  head  and  tail  on  oppo- 
site sides,  in  which  were  a mussel-shell  and  a round,  flat  pebble. 

Burial  No.  309,  adult,  had  in  addition  to  a bottle,  red  paint  at  the  left  humerus  ; 
a gorget  of  shell  made  from  a triangular  section  of  a conch,  without  decoration ; 
and  a curious  object  of  bone  at  the  left  forearm,  so  badly  decayed  and  broken  that 
its  former  size  and  shape  could  not  be  determined.  It  seemed,  however,  to  have 
been  a receptacle  made  from  part  of  a large  bone,  split  and  hollowed.  The  thin- 
ness of  the  walls  and  the  length  of  the  hollowed  space  seem  to  discredit  the  idea 
that  the  object  had  served  as  a handle. 

Burial  No.  311,  a child,  had  a bowl,  a bottle,  and  a small,  oval,  undecorated 
ornament  of  shell,  with  two  perforations. 

Burial  No.  325,  adult,  had  a bowl  at  the  right  of  the  skull  and  a bottle  at  the 
right  shoulder.  On  the  upper  part  of  the  thorax,  the  broad  end  under  the  chin, 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


457 


lay  a disappointment  in  the  shape  of  a perfectly  preserved  gorget  of  shell  somewhat 
more  than  7 inches  in  length  and  6 inches  in  maximum  breadth,  having  two  perfo- 
rations in  the  upper,  or  broader,  part,  and  one  near  the  opposite  end.  This  gorget, 
of  a type  so  often  representing  the  human  face,  is  without  decoration  of  any  kind. 

Burial  No.  326,  the  skeleton  of  an  adult,  showing  slight  disturbance,  had  at  the 
right  of  the  skull,  one  within  the  other,  two  earthenware  vessels  representing  shell 
forms,  and  a bottle  at  the  right  humerus.  Near  this  bottle  were  a small  quantity 
of  paint;  three  cylinders  shaped  from  tines  of  antler;  a piercing  implement  about 
6 inches  in  length  made  from  a section  of  a bone,  having  at  one  end  nine  notches 
on  one  side. 

Burial  No.  333,  adolescent,  had  two  rude,  discoid al  stones  at  the  left  of  the 
pelvis. 

Burial  No.  340,  adult,  had  a small  quantity  of  red  pigment  near  the  skull  and 
two  shell  beads  at  the  neck.  A bowl  and  a bottle  also  were  with  this  burial. 

Five  hundred  and  thirty-five  vessels  of  earthenware,  broken  and  whole  (two 
hundred  and  sixty-three  of  which  were  left  with  Mr.  Friend,  the  owner  of  the 
Pecan  Point  Plantation),  were  found  by  us  during  our  investigation.  Of  these, 
eleven  were  apart  from  burials,  probably  as  a result  of  aboriginal  disturbance. 

The  vessels  from  this  place,  as  a rule  (with  many  exceptions),  lay  near  the 
skulls,  and  often  a deposit  consisted  of  a bowl  and  a bottle.  A number  of  burials, 
however,  were  without  deposits  of  earthenware,  while  some  had  only  one  vessel  and 
a few  had  each  a considerable  number  of  them.  The  arrangement  of  vessels  in 
respect  to  each  other  was  simple.  A few  lay  within  others,  but  cases  of  surmount- 
ing vessels,  inverted  or  otherwise,  were  rare. 

The  earthenware  from  Pecan  Point  is  shell-tempered  as  a rule,  but  on  the  other 
hand,  often  it  is  not  of  the  shell-tempered  kind.  The  ware  is  of  fairly  good  quality. 
The  forms  are  almost  invariably  confined  to  the  bottle,  the  bowl,  and  the  pot,  and 
these,  as  a rule,  vary  but  little  from  standard  shapes. 

Bottles  almost  universally  are  of  the  wide-mouthed  variety,  and,  save  in  a few 
instances,  without  superficial  decoration,  though  many  of  them  have  an  added 
attraction  in  the  form  of  a projecting  annular  or  discoidal  base  which,  incidentally 
we  may  say,  was  often,  if  not  always,  made  separately  from  the  body  of  the  vessel 
and  added  to  it  previous  to  the  firing. 

Strangely  enough,  the  bottle  with  the  tripod  support,  a not  uncommon  form  in 
the  Middle  Mississippi  region,  was  not  found  by  us  at  Pecan  Point. 

Though  the  surface  of  much  of  the  ware  from  Pecan  Point  could  readily  have 
lent  itself  to  engraved,  incised,  or  trailed  decoration,  such  decoration  is  seldom 
found  upon  it,  and  when  present  it  is  almost  invariably  of  the  rudest  kind.  How- 
ever, incised  decoration  on  earthenware,  as  the  reader  knows,  is  not  looked  for  to 
any  extent  in  the  Middle  Mississippi  region.  On  the  other  hand,  the  use  of  pig- 
ment for  decoration  of  earthenware  was  a favorite  method  in  that  region  and  was 
extensively  practised  by  the  potters  of  the  St.  Francis  river  sites  to  the  westward 
of  Pecan  Point.  Taking  this  into  consideration  it  is  rather  a surprise  to  know  that 

58  JOURN.  A.  N.  S.  PHILA.,  VOL.  XIV. 


458 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


but  twelve  vessels  decorated  in  color  were  found  by  us  at  Pecan  Point,  and  these, 
with  the  exception  of  the  head  bottle  to  be  described  later,  show  little  variety  in 
design. 

Many  mussel-shells,  separately  or  occasionally  in  pairs,  lay  within  or  beside 
vessels  at  this  place. 

We  shall  now  consider  earthenware  from  Pecan  Point,  having  features  of 
interest. 

Vessel  No.  31,  a bottle,  has  four  ecpiidistant  depressions  in  the  body,  but  is 
otherwise  undecorated.  This  form  of  decoration  in  regions  where  potters  were 
given  to  the  use  of  incised  designs  would  have,  in  addition,  much  incised  decoration 
in  which  the  depressions  would  occupy  central  positions. 

Vessel  No.  330,  a bottle  of  ordinary  form  as  to  the  body,  but  showing 
markings  whence  a head,  a tail,  and  four  legs  apparently  had  been  broken 
away.  Animal  forms  and  pots  with  the  additions  we  have  named  occasionally 
are  found  in  the  Middle  Mississippi  region,  but  a bottle  with  a globular  body, 
with  head,  tail,  and  legs  is  rare  indeed.  A fine  bottle  bordering  on  this  class, 
though  the  body  is  not  entirely  globular,  is  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  E.  E.  Baird  of 
Poplar  Bluff,  Mo.1 

Vessel  No.  333,  a pot  of  ordinary  ware,  having  around  the  portion  below  the 
rim  a decoration  of  upright  fillets  in  relief.  On  the  body  are  vertical,  parallel,  incised 
lines,  very  rudely  executed.  On  the  base  of  the  vessel  is  a circle  containing  a 
swastika. 

Vessel  No.  463,  a bowl  almost  4.5  inches  in  diameter  of  body,  having  on  one 
side,  projecting  outward  and  upward,  the  modeled  head  of  a bird.  On  the  opposite 
side  is  a tail  extending  horizontally,  having  six  deeply  incised,  parallel  lines  on  the 
upper  surface.  In  this  tail  are  twro  holes  for  suspension  ; a single  hole  traverses  the 
neck  of  the  bird  on  the  opposite  side. 

Vessel  No.  475,  a pot  about  6 inches  in  diameter,  has  on  opposite  sides  a con- 
ventional head  and  tail  of  a fish  ; on  two  other  opposite  sides,  dorsal  and  ventral 
fins  are  represented.  On  one  side  of  the  vessel  are  twro  holes  for  suspension,  while 
on  the  opposite  side  are  the  same  number  of  semi-perforations  which,  for  some 
reason,  have  not  been  completed. 

Vessel  No.  229.  This  bottle,  shown  in  Plate  XXXV,  received  a blow  from  a 
spade  on  one  side,  the  restored  part  showing  somewhat  to  the  left  in  the  illustration. 
The  body  is  decorated  with  vertical  bands,  white  and  red,  the  red  bands  being  of 
different  widths  alternately.  The  neck  has  had  a uniform  coating  of  red  pigment, 
much  of  which  has  disappeared  through  wear. 

Vessel  No.  160.  A bottle  of  coarse,  shell-tempered  ware,  of  a well-known  type 
in  the  Middle  Mississippi  region,  has  a double  neck  arching  to  form  a short,  vertical 
one  at  the  union  of  the  two. 

Vessel  No.  173.  A bottle  of  hard,  black  ware,  7.2  inches  in  height,  having  in 
relief  on  the  upper  part  of  the  body,  surrounding  the  neck,  the  symbol  shown  in 

1 W.  K.  Moorehead.  “ The  Stone  Age  in  North  America,”  Vol.  If,  p.  2<S1. 


JOURN.  ACAD.  NAT.  SCI.  PHILAD..  2ND  SER.,  VOL.  XIV. 


PLATE  XXXV. 


, 'i 


WmM 

jfc  ; 


i f«vP 

L 

Kea^.-ttsKK 


mm  mm 


WmWsm\ 

gA&sHP 


K&&4B t HVoSffiES?  ’ : 


.>V’'y-  V. 


‘tekMaSi 


■M&.r &'&■ 


PECAN  POINT,  ARKANSAS,  VESSEL  NO.  229.  (height,  8.6  inches.) 


Cockayne,  Boston 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


459 


Fig.  65,  the  meaning 


Fig.  65. — Symbol  of  unknown  meaning. 


of  which,  as  we  have  said,  is  in  doubt,  though  its  use  in 
aboriginal  times  was  comparatively  widespread. 
AVe  find  it  engraved  on  pottery  and  repousse  on 
sheet-copper  from  the  great  site  at  Moundville,1 
Ala.,  and  carved  on  stone  from  the  region  border- 
ing the  lower  Arkansas  river.2  It  is  seen  in 
relief  on  pottery  from  Arkansas,3  and  we  have 
found  the  symbol  in  that  State,  forming  the  out- 
line of  bowls,  along  the  St.  Francis  and  Mississippi 
rivers. 

Incidentally  it  may  be  said  that  the  symbol 
in  question,  when  it  does  not  appear  in  relief  on  a 
bottle  or  as  an  outline  of  a bowl  (in  which  case  no 
particular  position  can  be  assigned  to  it),  is  almost 
invariably  represented  with  the  pointed  parts  ver- 
tically placed  and  also  has  centrally  an  elliptical 
figure  perhaps  representing  an  orifice.  In  Fig.  66 
is  shown  one  of  these  symbols  which  is  engraved 
on  a vase  from  Moundville,  Ala. 

Vessel  No.  144.  AVe  show  here  in  Fig.  67  a 
bowl  shaped  in  outline  to  resemble  the  symbol  to 
which  reference  has  just  been  made. 

Vessel  No.  459.  This  bottle,  3.9  inches  in 
height,  has  lost  much  of  its  neck  in  aboriginal 
times,  though  the  margin  of  fracture  has  been 
smoothed  down  by  the  aborigines  to  allow  continued  use  of  the  vessel.  The  deco- 
ration has  consisted  of  a considerable  number  of  vertical  bands  alternately  red  and 
black,  though  on  some  of  the  bands  little  trace  of  the  black  remains. 

Vessel  No.  136.  This  interesting  pot  (Fig.  68),  a life  form  representing  a 
quadruped  of  some  kind,  is  of  hard,  black  ware  showing  considerable  polish.  The 
type  is  unusual,  and  resembles  somewhat  that  of  a vessel  found  by  us  on  the  lower 
Arkansas  river,4  which,  however,  is  inferior  in  some  respects  to  the  one  under 
description.  The  decoration  on  this  vessel  consists  of  designs  based  on  the  swas- 
tika and  of  swastikas  enclosed  in  circles. 

Vessel  No.  317.  In  Fig.  69  is  shown  a very  interesting  bottle.  On  two  oppo- 
site sides,  in  relief,  are  modeled  human  faces,  while  on  two  other  opposite  sides, 


Fig.  66. — Symbol  of  unknown  meanin 
a vase,  Moundville,  Ala. 


from 


1 Clarence  B.  Moore.  “Certain  Aboriginal  Mounds  of  the  Black  Warrior  River”  and  “Mound- 
ville Revisited,”  passim.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  Yol.  XI II. 

2 William  H.  Holmes.  “Certain  Notched  or  Scalloped  Stone  Tablets  of  the  Mound  Builders.” 
Amer.  Anthropologist,  Jan. -Mar.,  1906. 

W.  K.  Moorehead.  “The  Stone  Age  in  North  America,”  Vol.  I,  p.  452. 

3 William  H.  Holmes.  “Aboriginal  Pottery  of  Eastern  United  States,”  Plate  XJIIf.  We 
found  this  symbol  in  relief  on  no  fewer  than  eight  bottles  at  Pecan  Point,  Ark. 

1 “Certain  Mounds  of  Arkansas  and  of  Mississippi,”  Fig.  7.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila., 
Vol.  XIII. 


460 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Fig.  67. — Vessel  No.  144.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Diam.  9.75  inches.) 

1 Iii  the  collection  of  Mr.  I.  McGirk  Mitchell  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  is  a fine  bottle  said  to  have 
come  from  near  Blytheville,  Ark.,  which  bears  in  relief  three  hands,  three  faces,  and  seven  long-bones, 
all  very  similar  to  those  shown  on  the  vessel  under  description. 

2 “Certain  Aboriginal  Remains  of  the  Black  Warrior  River,”  p.  226  et  al. 

“ Moundville  Revisited,”  p.  369.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  Vol.  XIII. 


also  in  relief,  human  hands  are  represented.  Between  the  hands  and  the  faces  are 
four  long-bones,  in  relief.  This  decoration,  which  must  be  very  unusual1  on  pottery 
in  this  region,  calls  to  mind  the  human  long-bones  engraved  on  bottles  found  by  us 
in  the  great  site  at  Moundville,  Ala.2 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


461 


Fig.  68. — Vessel  No.  136.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Height  5.5  inches.) 


462 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Fig.  69. — Vessel  No.  317.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Height  9 inches.) 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


463 


Vessel  No.  228.  The  human  effigy  bottle  shown  in  Fig.  70  is  devoid  of  espe- 
cial interest  save  that  incised  lines  appear  on  the  face  and  probably  represent  a 
decoration  painted  or  tattooed.4 


Fig.  70. — Vessel  No.  228.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Height  8.2  inches.) 


Vessels  Nos.  267  and  296.  In  Figs.  71  and  72  are  shown  two  human  effigy 
bottles  which  are  of  interest  simply  as  coming  from  the  great  Pecan  Point  site. 

1 For  method  of  tattooing  among  Indians  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  see  John  R.  Swanton, 
“ Indian  Tribes  of  the  Lower  Mississippi  Valley  and  adjacent  Coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,”  pp.  56, 

57,  Bui.  43,  Bur.  Am.  Ethn. 


464 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


Vessel  No.  176.  This  human  effigy  bottle  (Fig.  73)  varies  from  the  general 
type  of  such  bottles  from  this  region  in  that  a space  for  suspension  is  provided  on 
each  side  of  the  bottle,  below  the  shoulder  of  the  figure. 


Fig.  71. — Vessel  No.  267.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Height  8.75  inches.) 


Vessel  No.  206.  This  graceful  bottle  of  polished,  black  ware  (Fig.  74),  having 
the  aperture  at  the  back  of  a representation  of  a human  head  modeled  in  relief,  is 
not  of  an  unusual  type  in  this  region,  but  is  shown  here  on  account  of  its  grace 
of  form. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


465 


Fig.  72. — Vessel  No.  296.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Height  4.9  inches.) 


Fig.  73. — Vessel  No.  176.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Height  6.9  inches.) 


59  JOURN.  A.  N.  S.  PHILA.,  VOL.  XIV. 


466 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


Fig.  74. — Vessel  No.  206.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Height  5.3  inches.) 

Vessel  No.  202.  A small  bottle  of  yellow  ware,  similar  to  others  figured  as 
coming  from  this  region.  The  aperture  is  placed  at  the  back  of  the  modeled  head 
of  some  quadruped  (Fig.  75). 


Fig.  75. — Vessel  No.  202.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Height  3.8  inches.) 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


467 


Vessel  No.  497.  A bottle  (Fig.  76)  having  by  way  of  decoration,  modeled  in 
relief  at  the  base  of  the  neck,  a cross  of  the  four  directions,  each  arm  of  which  is 
the  well-known  step-design,  or  cloud-symbol.  As  this  design,  being  of  the  same 
shade  as  its  background,  the  body  of  the  bottle,  did  not  lend  itself  to  successful 
photographic  reproduction,  the  half-tone  illustration  is  made  from  a wash-drawing 
of  the  vessel. 


Fig.  76. — Vessel  No.  497.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Height  5.9  inches.) 


Vessel  No.  91.  A bottle  4.7  inches  in  height,  of  light-brown  ware,  with  short, 
wide  neck,  having  in  red  pigment  on  the  body  four  volute  designs  based  on  the 
swastika.  On  the  neck  are  step-patterns,  or  cloud-symbols,  in  the  same  color. 

Vessel  No.  254.  A bottle  7.75  inches  in  height,  to  which  a wide  and  slightly 
Haring  neck  contributes  3.5  inches.  On  the  body  is  a design  somewhat  similar  to 
the  one  on  the  vessel  just  described — a well-known  decoration  on  earthenware  from 
this  part  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  from  the  St.  Francis  river,  Ark.,  to  the  west- 
ward. The  design  on  this  bottle,  however,  differs  from  the  other  in  that,  instead 
of  having  a back-ground  of  the  ware,  all  space  between  the  red  pigment  markings 
is  filled  in  with  white,  or,  perhaps  more  properly  speaking,  a cream  tint.  On  the 
neck  has  been  a decoration  in  red  pigment,  now  almost  obliterated.  There  is  a 
discoidal,  projecting  base. 


468 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Vessel  No.  272.  A bottle  5.8  inches  in  height,  of  a rather  common  type,  rep- 
resenting a fish  with  head,  tail,  and  fins,  in  relief.  The  only  feature  of  particular 
interest  of  this  vessel  is  that  its  short,  wide  neck  has  two  loop  handles  on  opposite 
sides. 

Vessel  No.  283.  A life-form  representing  a shell  drinking-cup  wrought  from 
the  conch  ( Fulgur ),  the  beak  and  the  spire  being  clearly  indicated.  Height,  2.5 
inches. 

Vessel  No.  531.  This  bottle  of  compound  form,  having  three  encircling  lines 
of  punctate  markings  around  the  lower  part  of  the  neck,  above  which  are  four  con- 
ventional handles  without  openings,  and  an  annular  base,  belongs  to  a class  of 
which  a number  of  examples  were  found  by  us  at  Pecan  Point.  A similar  vessel 
is  figured  by  Holmes.1 

Vessel  No.  68.  A bottle  6.7  inches  in  height,  also  similar  to  one  figured  by 
Professor  Holmes,2  having  an  animal  head  projecting  from  the  neck,  the  opening 
being  at  the  back  of  the  head. 

Vessel  No.  464.  A bottle  3.6  inches  in  height,  whose  body  is  a life-form  rep- 
resenting a fish  seen  in  profile.  The  head,  tail,  and  dorsal  and  ventral  fins  are  rep- 
resented, but  with  no  high  degree  of  excellence.  An  interesting  and  unusual  feat- 
ure is  the  vent  in  place,  clearly  modeled  in  relief. 

Vessel  No.  55.  A bottle  very  rudely  made,  4.2  inches  in  height,  the  body 
having  the  form  of  a fish  on  which,  in  relief,  are  the  usual  head,  tail,  and  fins.  A 
noteworthy  variant,  however,  is  the  head  of  some  animal  indistinctly  modeled  on 
the  neck  of  the  bottle. 

Vessel  No.  88.  This  pot,  rather  coarsely  made,  has  on  one  side,  in  relief,  a 
modeled  head  representing  that  of  a raccoon.  On  the  opposite  side  is  a conven- 
tional tail.  The  body  of  the  bowl  has  very  roughly  executed  incised  decoration. 
A vessel  in  many  respects  similar  to  this  one  is  figured  by  Holmes3  as  coming  from 
Arkansas,  and  a vessel  also  recalling  this  one,  with  a modeled  raccoon  head  on  each 
of  two  opposite  sides,  was  found  by  us  at  the  Rose  Mound,4  St.  Francis  river,  Ark. 

Vessel  No.  246.  A bowl  6 inches  in  maximum  diameter,  having  a rim  pro- 
jecting horizontally.  On  one  side,  extending  upward,  is  a modeled  representation 
of  a human  head,  from  which  the  features  have  partly  disintegrated.  On  the  oppo- 
site side,  extending  horizontally,  is  the  modeled  figure  of  a quadruped,  from  which 
the  tail  is  missing.  This  figure  has  projections  along  the  back  such  as  are  seen  on 
many  human  effigy  bottles,  and  which,  as  we  know,  are  introduced  to  indicate  the 
vertebrae. 

Vessel  No.  230.  A pot  having  in  relief  the  head  and  legs  of  a frog.  The  tail 
is  represented  by  a disk  in  relief. 

Vessel  No.  431.  iV  bottle  7.3  inches  in  height,  with  wide  neck  about  3 inches 

1 Op.  cit.,  PL  XHId. 

2 Op.  cit.,  PI.  XXVa. 

3 Op.  cit.,T\.  XXIVb. 

4 “Antiquities  of  the  St.  Francis,  White,  and  Black  Rivers,  Arkansas,”  Fig.  29. 


JOURN 


ACAD.  NAT.  SCI  PH1LAD. , 2ND  SER.,  VOL.  XIV, 


PLATE  XXXVI 


PECAN  POINT.  ARKANSAS.  VESSEL  NO. 


13. 


(HEIGHT,  7.6  INCHES.) 


Cock  a y n e 


Boston 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


469 


high,  having  around  it  a decoration  consisting  of  a uniform  coating  of  red  paint,  has 
a painted  design  on  the  body,  based  on  the  swastika,  with  spiral  arms.  The  spirals 
in  this  case,  however,  show  less  curve  than  usual,  and  have  a somewhat  squared 
appearance. 

Vessel  No.  13.  In  Plate  XXXVI  is  shown  a head  bottle,  a variant  from  the 
well-known  and  interesting  type  of  head  vases  which  we  believe  (speaking  of  the 
United  States)  are  found  only  in  northeastern  Arkansas  and  in  southeastern 
Missouri.  At  the  time  when  Professor  Holmes  wrote  his  “Ancient  Pottery  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley,”1  he  had  met  with  but  eight  head  vases,  all  of  which  had  been 
found  in  this  Pecan  Point  site.  In  later  years  other  head  vases  have  been  discov- 
ered, but  in  comparatively  small  numbers ; so  the  vessels  are  as  rare  as  they  are 
interesting. 

We  have  been  enabled  to  trace  the  present  ownership  of  the  following  speci- 
mens of  the  head  vessel  type  : 

Eight  in  the  National  Museum,  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  in  the  Davenport 
Academy  of  Science,  Davenport,  Iowa;  all  from  Pecan  Point,  Ark. 

One  in  the  collection  of  the  Cossitt  Library,  Memphis,  Tenn.,  said  to  have  been 
found  at  the  Bradley  Place,  which  is  not  far  from  Pecan  Point. 

One  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  I.  McGirk  Mitchell  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  another 
belonging  to  Mr.  H.  M.  Braun  of  East  St.  Louis,  111.  ; both  from  a site  near  Blythe- 
ville,  northeastern  Arkansas,  not  far  from  the  Missouri  line. 

One  “from  Mississippi  County,  Ark.,”  the  property  of  Mr.  E.  E.  Baird,  of 
Poplar  Bluff,  Mo. 

One  in  Peabody  Museum,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  from  the  Fortune  Mound,  St. 
Francis  river,  Ark. 

One  in  the  Cincinnati  Art  Museum,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  from  the  mound  at  Par- 
kin, St.  Francis  river.  Ark. 

Two  in  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  from  the  Rose 
Mound,  St.  Francis  river,  Ark. 

Several  in  the  collection  of  the  Missouri  Historical  Society,  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
described  as  coming  from  southeastern  Missouri. 

A handsome  bottle  with  faces  and  ears  modeled  in  relief  on  two  opposite  sides 
in  the  collection  of  Mr.  George  J.  Mepham  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  who  informs  us  that 
it  came  from  a mound  in  Mississippi  County,  Mo. 

The  head  bottle  under  description,  from  Pecan  Point,  Ark.,  now  in  the 
Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

There  is  also  a class  of  vessels  found  near  Little  Rock,  Ark.  (and  possibly  else- 
where), which  can  hardly  be  called  head  vases  or  head  bottles  but  which  nearly 
approach  such  vessels.  The  vessels  in  question  bear  faces  modeled  in  low  relief, 
and  little  effort  has  been  made  to  have  these  vases  conform  to  the  shape  of  the 
human  head.  In  fact,  the  face  does  not  always  seem  to  have  been  intended  to  rep- 
resent the  human  features.  The  faces,  moreover,  sometimes  occupy  but  a small 

1 William  H.  Holmes.  Fourth  An.  Rep.  Bur.  Etlin.,  1882-83,  p.  406  et  seq. 


470 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


space  on  the  vessels  on  which  they  are  modeled.  Examples  of  this  class  of  vases 
are  figured  by  Holmes.1 

In  a small  collection  of  aboriginal  pottery  in  the  Courthouse2  at  Little  Rock, 
Ark.,  was  a vessel  of  the  “teapot”  type  having  on  one  side  a face  modeled  in 
relief.  We  have  in  vain  attempted  to  obtain  a photograph  of  this  interesting  vessel. 


Fig.  77. — Vessel  No.  218.  Pecau  Point,  Ark.  ( Height  7.8  inches.) 


As  we  have  said  before  in  this  report,  the  “teapot”  vessel  and  the  head  vase, 
both  specialties  of  Arkansas  (though  a few  “teapot”  vessels  are  found  in  Mississippi 
and  some  head  vases  come  from  southeastern  Missouri),  are  not,  as  a rule,  found  in 
the  same  parts  of  the  State,  the  southernmost  discovery  of  head  vases  and  the 
northernmost  occurrence  of  “teapot”  vessels  being,  we  believe,  the  Rose  Mound,  on 
the  St.  Francis  river,  Ark. 

1 William  H.  Holmes.  “Aboriginal  Pottery  of  Eastern  United  States,”  PI.  XXIXa  and  b. 

2 At  the  time  of  our  visit  in  1908. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


471 


In  speaking  of  head  vases  and  “teapot”  vessels,  be  it  remembered,  we  have 
reference  only  to  territory  included  in  the  United  States. 

In  Professor  Holmes’  “Ancient  Pottery  of  the  Mississippi  Valley”  1 and  in  bis 
“Aboriginal  Pottery  of  Eastern  United  States,” 2 the  subject  of  bead  vases  is 
exhaustively  treated  and  fully  illustrated.  The  question  of  bead  vases  also  is  con- 
sidered in  “ Prehistoric  Art.  ’' 

We  shall  now  end  this  digression  and  return  to  the  bead  bottle  from  Pecan 
Point. 


Fig.  78. — Vessel  No.  97.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Height  5.5  inches.) 


The  ware  is  light  brown,  containing  a certain  amount  of  shell-tempering. 
The  base  of  the  bottle  projects  downward  and  seems  to  have  been  modeled  to  repre- 
sent the  human  neck,  while  the  body  of  the  bottle  has  been  given  the  shape  of  the 
head.  The  face,  including  the  ears,  is  modeled  on  it  in  relief.  The  face,  ears,  and 
neck  have  a coating  of  red  pigment,  but  the  remainder  of  the  vessel  is  without  the 
addition  of  coloring.  Each  ear  shows  two  perforations,  a number  smaller  than  head 
vessels  usually  have,  though  the  ears  of  human  effigy  vessels  from  the  Middle 
Mississippi  region  are,  as  a rule,  shown  as  having  but  one  perforation,  which  is 

1 Fourth  An.  Rep.  Bur.  Ethn.,  p.  406  et  seq. 

2 Twentieth  An.  Rep.  Bur.  Am.  Ethn.,  p.  96  et  seq.  Pis.  XXIX,  XXX,  XXXI,  XXXII, 
XL,I  II. 

3 Thomas  Wilson.  Rep.  U.  S.  National  Museum,  18P6,  p.  475  et  seq. 


472 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


placed  in  the  lobe  of  the  ear.  The  ears  on  some  head  vessels  show  a vertical  row 
of  perforations  near  the  posterior  margin  of  the  cartilaginous  part  of  the  ear,  some- 
what similar  to  perforations  found  in  the  ears  of  some  of  our  modern  Indians.  In 
a recent  work1  is  a photographic  portrait  of  a Crow  Indian  having  three  perfora- 
tions placed  vertically,  two  near  the  margin  of  the  cartilaginous  part  of  the  ear  and 
one  in  the  lobe. 


Fig.  79.— Vessel  No.  304.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Height  4.2  inches.) 


Vessel  No.  218.  This  bottle  (Fig.  77)  is  shown  to  illustrate  a class  of  wide- 
mouthed  bottles  with  long  necks,  found  in  the  Middle  Mississippi  region. 

Vessel  No.  97.  A bottle  of  compound  form  (Fig.  78),  rather  graceful  in  out- 
line, having  around  part  of  the  neck  a decoration  composed  of  incised,  vertical 
lines,  above  which  is  a series  of  conventional  handles,  solidly  placed  on  the  neck. 

Vessel  No.  304.  A bottle  of  thin,  dark  ware,  shown  here  on  account  of  its 
grace  of  form  (Fig.  79). 

Vessel  No.  43.  This  bottle  (Fig.  80)  has  by  way  of  decoration  on  the  body, 
alternate  vertical  bands  of  red  and  of  white  pigment.  On  the  neck  are  shown  step- 
designs,  or  cloud  symbols,  in  white  and  in  red,  the  white  upright,  the  red  inverted. 

Vessel  No.  386  is  a bowl  (Fig.  81)  with  a rude  animal  head  and  tail,  to  which 
are  added  in  relief  the  fore-legs  and  hind-legs  of  the  quadruped  intended  to  be 
represented. 

Vessel  No.  123.  This  pot  (Fig.  82),  with  incised  decoration  made  up  of  series 
of  parallel  lines  running  diagonally,  alternately  reversed,  is  interesting  as  showing 

1 James  McLaughlin.  “My  Friend  the  Indian,”  plate  facing  p.  40. 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER.  473 


Fto.  81. — Vessel  No.  3S6.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Height  of  bowl  3.7  inches.) 


Fig.  80. — Vessel  No.  43.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Height  7.8  inches.) 


60  JOURN.  A.  N.  S.  PHILA.,  VOL.  XIV. 


474 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 


the  usual  style  of  incised  decoration  which  prevailed  in  the  Middle  Mississippi 
region.  A series  of  conventional  handles  surrounds  the  neck. 

Vessel  No.  328.  This  handsome  bowl,  without  decoration  on  the  inside,  has 
exteriorly  a striking  in- 
cised design  exception- 
ally well-executed  con- 
sidering the  region 
whence  it  came.  The 
design  consists  of  a cross 
surrounded  by  current 
scrolls.  Below  the  mar- 
gin of  the  bowl  is  a 
series  of  conventional 
handles  (Fig.  83). 

It  is  interesting  to 
note,  in  connection  with 
the  site  at.  Pecan  Point, 
the  almost  total  absence 
of  decoration  on  objects 
other  than  vessels  of 
e a r t h e n w a re,  w h i c h 
were  found  at  the  place. 

Numbers  of  piercing  implements  of  bone  were  unearthed  there  by  us,  but  only  one 
of  these  bears  decoration  of  any  importance.  But  the  objects  from  Pecan  Point 
on  which  lack  of  embellishment  is  most  noticeable  are  the  shell  corsets.  These 
objects,  unlike  the  bone  implements,  served  no  utilitarian  purpose,  their  function 
being  purely  ornamental,  and  when  on  objects  of  this  kind  no  decoration  is  present, 
as  is  the  case  with  those  from  Pecan  Point,  the  omission  is  striking,  especially  as 
gorgets  of  shell  from  Tennessee  and  even  from  sites  on  the  St.  Francis  river,  Aik., 
not  far  westward  from  Pecan  Point,  often  bear  interesting  designs. 

Another  fact  worthy  of  remark  is  that  throughout  all  our  work  at  Pecan  Point, 
but  one  pipe  was  encountered. 

The  Stoffle  Peace,  Mississippi  County,  Ark. 

About  live  miles  NNE.  from  the  landing  whence  a road  leads  to  the  town  of 
Wilson,  is  a mound  about  8 feet  in  height,  two  hundred  yards  from  the  river, 
approximately.  This  mound,  100  feet  and  75  feet  in  basal  diameters,  has  been 
used  as  a cemetery  in  recent  times.  It  is  on  the  plantation  of  Mr.  T.  M.  Stollie, 
who  resides  on  the  place. 

In  the  cultivated  field  surrounding  the  mound  is  ground  somewhat  higher  than 
the  rest  of  the  adjacent  land,  and  from  this  area  it  was  said,  a mixed-blood  Indian, 
a dealer  in  aboriginal  pottery,  had  taken  many  relics.  Traces  of  his  work  were 
found  throughout  it  by  us. 


Fig.  82. — Vessel  No.  123.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Height  4 1 inches.) 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 


475 


Fig.  83. — Vessel  No.  328.  Pecan  Point,  Ark.  (Diam.  9 75  inches.) 


476 


SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Trial-holes,  sunk  by  us  in  this  ground,  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  twenty- 
three  burials,  some  of  which  had  been  badly  disturbed,  while  deposits  of  pottery 
with  the  skulls  of  others,  which  had  been  discovered  by  the  aid  of  the  sounding- 
rod,  had  been  dug  down  to  and  removed. 

Burials  were  as  follows  : 

Adults,  10 

Infants  and  children,  7 

Disturbances,  aboriginal  and  recent,  6 

Of  the  ten  adult  burials,  nine  lay  extended  on  the  back  ; one  was  rather 
closely  flexed  on  the  left  side  with  the  trunk  so  turned  as  to  have  the  face 
directed  downward. 

In  the  soil,  apart  from  burials,  but  perhaps  separated  from  them  through  pre- 
vious disturbance,  were  a celt  of  igneous  rock,  pecked  on  parts  intended  to  enter  a 
handle,  and  an  astragalus  of  a deer,  carefully  smoothed  on  some  of  its  sides. 

Burial  No.  4,  adult,  had  a bowl  at  the  left  of  the  skull ; at  the  outer  side  of 
the  femur,  a bone  pin  with  a head,  and  a considerable  number  of  very  slender 
implements  of  bone,  originally  about  the  size  of  wooden  tooth-picks  in  use  at  the 
present  time,  only  much  more  delicately  shaped.  Many  of  these  were  badly  broken, 
but  some  have  since  been  repaired.  Just  such  a deposit  of  small,  bone  implements 
is  described  by  General  Thruston  1 as  having  been  found  in  an  aboriginal  cemetery 
in  Middle  Tennessee. 

Burial  No.  7,  a child,  was  without  artifacts  with  the  exception  of  a large  disk 
shaped  from  a potsherd,  which  lay  near  the  skull. 

Burial  No.  10,  a child,  had  a pot  over  the  right  femur.  With  this  vessel  was 
a sphere  of  pottery  about  .75  inch  in  diameter.  Similar  objects  have  been  found  in 
other  parts  of  Arkansas  and  in  Tennessee. 

Burial  No.  12,  a child,  had  two  discoidal  stones  rudely  shaped  from  pebbles 
originally  flat,  and  two  astragali  of  deer  which,  however,  show  no  sign  of  workman- 
ship. With  this  burial  also  were  a bowl  and  a bottle. 

Burial  No.  16,  a child,  had  two  pots  at  the  left  of  the  skull,  and,  on  the  chest, 
a canine  tooth  of  a bear,  perforated  at  one  end  for  suspension. 

Burial  No.  17,  adult,  had  in  association  a pot  over  the  left  humerus;  a bottle 
and  a bowl  at  the  pelvis;  a thin  and  graceful  leaf-shaped  implement  of  flint,  8.5 
inches  in  length,  across  the  pelvis ; and  two  carefully-made  piercing  implements  of 
bone,  each  with  a hole  for  suspension  at  the  blunt  end. 

Twenty-four  vessels  were  found  by  us  at  the  Stoflle  Place,  which,  however, 
must  be  a considerably  smaller  number  than  originally  had  been  placed  with  the 
burials  we  discovered.  These  vessels,  which  are  of  inferior  ware,  present  no  feature 
of  especial  interest.  A small  bottle  with  a band  of  red  and  a band  of  white  pig- 
ment around  the  neck,  and  alternate  upright  bands  of  red  and  of  white  around  the 
body,  was  the  only  example  of  color  decoration  on  the  pottery  found  by  us  at  this 
place. 

1 Gates  P.  Thruston.  “Antiquities  of  Tennessee,”  Second  ed.,  p.  306. 


INDEX. 

SOME  ABORIGINAL  SITES  ON  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Adverse  conditions  affecting  the 
investigation,  367. 

Antler,  handle  of,  with  incisor  of 
beaver,  used  as  tool,  432. 

Antler,  worked,  390,  429,  433,  434, 
457- 

Arkansas  River,  southern  bound- 
ary of  Middle  Mississippi  region, 
370- 

Arrowheads,  377,  379,  390,  407, 
408,  411,  4U.  428,  429.  434-  449- 
450,  45 1 - 

Arrowheads  of  antler.  414,  429, 
43  L 432. 

Arrowheads,  garfish  scales,  433, 
449. 

Arrowheads,  types  of,  in  Middle 
and  Lower  Mississippi  Valley, 
39°- 

Arrowpoints  with  single  barbs,  449. 

Astragali  ground  for  use  as  dice, 
429,  431.  449,  451,  453,  455.  476. 

Astragali  ground  for  use  as  dice, 
set  of  three  found  with  a burial, 
453- 

Avenue,  site  at,  40 r. 

Axe,  ceremonial,  of  ferruginous 
shale,  456. 

Axes,  ceremonial,  hoe-shaped  va- 
riety, 409,  413,  454. 

Banks,  Lem,  his  many  plantations 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Academy,  406;  the  Kent  Place, 
406 ; the  Bradley  Place,  427. 

Barbed  arrowheads,  where  found 
on  Mississippi  River,  390. 

Bark,  present  with  burials,  392,  393. 


Bead  of  sheet-copper  or  brass,  431. 

Beads  of  bone.  4T4,  431,  454. 

Beads  of  shell,  391,  407,  409,  415, 
43°’  43  L 434.  45 P 452,  454-  455- 
457- 

Bead,  tubular,  of  copper  or  brass, 
408. 

Bear,  tooth  of,  perforated  for  sus- 
pension, 476. 

Beaver,  incisor  of,  used  as  tool,  in 
handle  of  antler,  432. 

Beaver,  incisor  of,  with  burial,  433. 

Bison,  astragalus  of.  ground  for 
use  as  a die,  453. 

Bison,  bone  of,  from  Pecan  Point, 
45«- 

Blum  mounds,  388. 

Bone  beads,  414,  431.  454. 

Bone  implements,  392,  402,  433, 

434-  45 L 452.  454-  455-  457-  474- 
476. 

Bone  implements,  deposit  of,  476. 

Bone  pins,  402,  476. 

Bones  of  lower  animals,  found  at 
the  Bradley  Place,  435. 

Bone  tubes,  431,  449. 

Bottle  of  remarkable  construction. 

436. 

Bottle  shown  as  enclosed  in  a net- 
work of  cord,  439. 

Bowls  inverted  over  skulls,  378, 
379-  432. 

Bowls,  small,  inverted,  covering 
openings  of  bottles,  402. 

Bracelets  of  copper,  431. 

Bradley  Place,  427. 

Bunched  burial,  its  northernmost 
limit  on  Mississippi  River,  413. 


Bunched  burial,  thirty  skulls  with 
one,  378. 

Bunched  burials  of  peculiar  form, 
392- 

Burials,  notable,  414,  429. 

Burials,  where  found,  369. 

Catlinite,  pipe  of,  376. 

Celts,  377,  379,  390,  414,  429,  433, 
449,  454,  476. 

Ceremonial  axe  of  ferruginous 
shale,  456. 

Ceremonial  axe,  pebble  in  shape  of, 
407- 

Ceremonial  axes,  hoe-shaped  va- 
riety, 409,  413,  454. 

Chisels  chipped  from  flint  pebbles,. 
379,  390,  402,  427,  434,  449,  456. 

Chisels,  geographical  variation  in 
type,  490. 

Chisels  of  flint,  made  from  selected 
pebbles,  449. 

Clay  cylinders,  382. 

Clay-stoppered  bottle,  427. 

Cloud  symbols,  decoration  on  ves- 
sels, 467,  472. 

Coal,  bituminous,  mass  of,  449. 

Coal,  rude  disk  of,  378. 

Commerce,  411. 

Compound  form  of  vessels,  396, 
472. 

Concretion  flinty,  broken  and  pol- 
ished, 454. 

Condition  of  pottery  found  by  11s, 
37i.  372. 

Copper  bracelets,  431. 

Copper-coated  ear-plug  of  stone, 
430- 


478 


INDEX. 


Copper,  sheet-,  ornaments  of,  408, 
409.  429- 

Copper,  sheet-,  tubular  bead  of,  431. 

Cremation  of  human  remains,  402, 
412. 

Crested  serpent,  design  based  upon 
the,  425,  440. 

Cross-legged,  human  effigy  figure 
seated,  419. 

Crosses,  four-  and  eight-armed,  as- 
sociated with  swastika  design  on 
vessel.  427. 

Cross  of  the  four  directions,  the 
arms  being  cloud  symbols,  467. 

Culin,  Stewart,  373,  453. 

Culin,  Stewart,  bis  opinion  as  to  the 
use  of  ground  astragali  as  dice, 
453- 

Cylinders  of  yellow  clay,  382. 

Decoration,  lack  of,  at  Pecan  Point, 
on  objects  other  than  earthen- 
ware, 474. 

Decoration  on  pottery,  type  of,  370, 
3/i- 

Deer  jaws,  parts  of,  used  as  scrap- 
ers for  maize,  429. 

Dice,  astragali  ground  for  use  as, 
429,  431,  449,  451,  453,  455,  4/6- 

Discoidals,  408,  409,  416,  431.  449. 

45 C 452-  454.  455-  4/6. 

Disk,  rude,  of  bituminous  coal,  378. 

Disks  of  indurated  clay,  379. 

Disks,  wrought  from  potsherds, 
414,  429-  449-  455-  476. 

Ear-plug  of  stone,  copper-coated  in 
part,  430. 

Ear-plugs  of  earthenware,  415,  429. 

Ear-plugs  of  indurated  clay,  379. 

Ear-plugs  of  shell,  4:5,  431,  432, 

433-  434-  45C  452-  455- 

Ear-plugs  of  shell  from  Pecan 
Point,  form  of,  451. 

Effigy  bottle  of  unusual  type,  416, 
417- 

Effigy  figure,  human,  seated  cross- 
legged,  419. 

Effigy  pipe  of  earthenware,  408. 


Effigy  pipe  of  limestone,  390. 

Ellis  Cliff,  mound  near,  377. 

Engraved  decoration  on  pottery, 
prevalent  in  Lower  Mississippi 
Valley,  370. 

Erosion,  mound  affected  by,  388, 

389- 

Evers,  Dr.  Edward,  371. 

Excellence  of  pottery  of  Lower 
Mississippi  region,  example  of, 

383-  384- 

Face-painting,  or  tattooing,  on  ef- 
figy bottle,  463. 

Fire-place,  potter’s,  414. 

Fish-bone  ornament,  407. 

Flint  point,  unusual  form  of,  433. 

Foot-shaped  vessel,  415,  421. 

Fossil  shell,  449. 

Fowke,  Gerard,  454. 

Friend,  R.  W.,  owner  of  Pecan 
Point  plantations,  447,  457. 

Friend,  R.  W.,  thanks  of  the  Acad- 
emy tendered  to,  447. 

Frog,  in  aboriginal  art,  441. 

Gar-pike,  scales  of,  used  as  arrow- 
heads, 433,  449. 

Glass,  site  near,  381. 

Glendale  Landing,  mound  near, 
376. 

Gorgets  of  shell,  412,  415,  431,  434, 

455-  456,  457-  474- 

Hale  Point,  destruction  of,  367. 

Hands,  heads  and  long-bones,  mod- 
eled in  relief  on  vessel,  459,  460. 

Haynes,  Prof.  Henry  W.,  433. 

Head  bottle  from  Pecan  Point,  469, 
471- 

Head-dress  of  bird  skin,  shown  on 
modeled  human  head,  419. 

Head-dress,  peculiar,  on  effigy  bot- 
tle, 438. 

Head  vessels,  a class  resembling 
them,  469. 

Head  vessels  frilly  described  by 
Professor  Holmes,  471. 

Head  vessels,  their  distribution, 
405,  470. 


Head  vessels,  where  first  found, 

447- 

Head  vessels,  where  found  and 
where  owned,  469. 

Hodge,  F.  W.,  373. 

Holmes,  Prof.  William  H.,  370, 
37L  388,  404.  4io,  438,  441,  446, 
447-  454-  459-  468,  469,  470,  471. 

Hrdlicka,  Dr.  Ales,  370. 

Human-effigy  vessels,  distribution 

of-  371- 

Implements  of  bone,  392,  402,  433, 

434-  45 L 452-  454-  455-  457-  474- 

476. 

Incised  decoration  prevalent  in 
Lower  Mississippi  region,  370. 

Incised  decoration,  usually  inferior 
in  Middle  Mississippi  region, 
370,  457- 

Incisor  of  beaver,  with  burial,  433. 

Inferiority  of  pottery,  cause  there- 
of suggested,  372. 

Johnson  Place,  41 1. 

Jones,  Dr.  Joseph,  424. 

Kaolin  used  for  pigment,  409. 

Iveeley,  F.  J.,  373. 

Keller,  Dr.  H.  F.,  373,  380,  382, 
409,  431. 

Kent  Place,  406. 

Knife  of  Hint,  379,  409,  412,  449, 

452- 

Leaf-shaped  arrowheads,  where 
found  on  Mississippi  River,  390. 

Life  form  of  unusual  type,  459. 

Line  decoration,  northern  limit  of, 

393- 

Line  decoration  of  superior  quality 
exceptional  in  Middle  Mississip- 
pi Valley,  393. 

Long-bones  shown  in  relief  on  bot- 
tle, 460. 

Loop-handles  surrounding  neck  of 
vessels,  424,  425,  474. 

Lower  Mississippi  Valley  region, 
northern  boundary  of,  370. 


INDEX. 


479 


Lucas,  Prof.  F.  A.,  373,  414,  435, 
450,  45  r,  453. 

Maps  of  part  of  Mississippi  Val- 
ley, 366,  374. 

Matting  with  burial,  409. 
McLaughlin,  James,  472. 

Middle  Mississippi  region,  its 
southern  boundary,  370. 

Miller,  Dr.  M.  G.,  373. 

Modeling  tools  of  earthenware. 


Pendants  of  shell,  408,  452,  455. 
Perforated  pebble,  393,  402. 
Perforations  in  ears  of  head  ves- 
sels, often  numerous,  471,  472. 
Piercing  implements  of  hone,  392, 
402,  433,  434,  455,  457,  474,  476. 
Pigment,  accompanying  burials, 
377,  378.  380.  382,  391,  402,  408, 
43  L 432-  433,  45 L 45  2-  454.  456. 
457- 


Rivets  used  on  ornament  of  sheet- 
copper,  409. 

Rock-crystal,  fragment  of,  379, 

430- 

Scope  of  the  investigation,  367. 
Seler,  Dr.  Eduard,  407. 

Shadyside  Landing,  site  at,  388. 
Shaw  Field,  mounds  near,  375. 
Sheet-copper  ornaments,  408,  409, 


433.  454- 

Moorehead,  Prof.  W.  K.,  458,  459. 

Mound  Place,  427. 

Mounds,  larger  ones  usually  domi- 
ciliary, 369. 

Mussel-shell  spoons,  unusual  ab- 
sence of,  402,  412. 

Neblett  Landing,  mound  near,  391. 

Net-work  decoration  on  bottle, 

439- 

Nixon,  Capt.  Hugh  W.,  373. 

Oak  Bend  Landing,  mound  near, 

378. 

Ornament  of  fish-bone,  407. 

Ornaments  of  sheet-copper,  408, 
409,  429. 

Ornaments  of  shell,  379,  408,  412, 
4L5,  416.  430.  43 L 43 2-  434.  45 L 
452,  455,  456,  457. 

Outes,  Profs.  F.  F.,  and  C.  Bruch, 

407- 

Panther,  tooth  of,  grooved  for  use 
as  a pendant,  451. 

Parker,  Arthur  C.,  429. 

Pathological  specimen,  449. 

Peabody,  Dr.  Charles,  404. 

Pebbles  of  flint,  selected  for  the 
manufacture  of  chisels,  449. 

Pebbles  perforated  for  suspension, 

393-  402. 

Pecan  Point,  447. 

Pecan  Point,  condition  of  skeletal 
remains  at,  449. 

Pecan  Point,  description  of,  447. 

Pecan  Point,  duration  of  investiga- 
tion of,  448. 

Pendant  of  talc,  435. 


Pigment,  vessels  exceptionally  dec- 
orated with,  from  Lower  Missis- 
sippi Valley,  387,  393,  394,  395, 
410. 

Pilsbry,  Dr.  H.  A.,  373,  394. 

Pins  of  bone,  402,  476. 

Pipe,  effigy,  of  earthenware,  408. 
Pipe,  effigy,  of  limestone,  390. 
Pipes,  376,  377,  390,  407,  408,  41 1, 
414,  415,  429,  432,  451. 

Point  of  flint,  of  unusual  form,  433. 
Polychrome  decoration  on  pottery, 

370.  387.  393,  394-  395-  402,  404, 
405,  409,  410,  436,  438,  441,  458, 
459-  467.  472-  476. 

Potter's  fire-place,  414. 

Pottery,  broken  and  inferior,  plac- 
ed with  the  dead,  372. 

Pottery,  condition  of,  found  by  us, 

37L  372- 

Pottery  of  Lower  and  Middle  Mis- 
sissippi regions  contrasted,  370, 
37 T- 

Preliminary  remarks,  367,  368,  369, 

37°.  37  L 372-  373- 
Preliminary  work  by  agents,  367. 
Putnam,  Prof.  Frederic  W.,  432, 
433- 

Quality  of  ware,  compared,  371. 

Raccoon,  penis  bone  of,  perforat- 
ed, 452. 

Rattle,  in  heads,  modeled  upon  ves- 
sels, 381,  416,  421. 

Rattle,  pebbles  from,  432. 

Raybon,  Capt.  J.  S.,  367,  373. 
Rhodes  Place,  413. 

Richland,  site  at.  39T. 


429- 

Shell  heads,  391,  407,  409,  415,  430, 

43 L 434,  45 T-  452-  454-  455,  457- 
Shell-form,  vessels  of,  394,  398, 
457-  468. 

Shell,  ornaments  of,  379,  409,  412, 
4 r 5-  416,  43°-  43 T-  432-  434-  45  L 
452-  455-  456.  457- 
Shell  pendants,  408,  452,  455. 

Shell  spoons,  432,  435,  454. 

Sites  investigated,  375. 

Skeletal  remains  at  Pecan  Point, 
condition  of,  449. 

Skeletal  remains  sent  to  U.  S.  Na- 
tional Museum,  370. 

Smith,  Harlan  I.,  452. 
Smoothing-stones  for  pottery,  382. 
Sphere  of  pottery,  476. 

Spires  of  conch-shells,  pierced  for 
suspension,  452,  455. 

Spoons  of  mussel  shell,  432,  435, 

454- 

Stepped  design  on  vessels,  467,  472. 
Stoffle  Place,  474. 

Stoppered  bottle,  427. 

Support  of  pottery,  414. 

Swanton,  Dr.  John  R.,  373,  434, 

463- 

Swastika,  on  pipe,  451. 

Swastikas  engraved  within  circles, 
419,  458,  459. 

Swastikas,  on  vessels,  384,  389,  398, 
425,  427,  438,  440,  467,  469. 
Symbol  of  unknown  meaning,  445, 
458.  459- 

Talc,  pendant  of,  455. 

Tattooing,  or  face  painting,  on 
effigy  bottle,  463. 


480 


INDEX. 


“Teapot”  vessels,  396.  404,  409, 
410,  443,  470. 

“Teapot”  vessel,  distribution  of, 
404,  405,  470. 

“Teapot”  vessel,  its  northernmost 
occurrence  on  Mississippi  River, 
410,  470. 

“Teapot”  vessel  of  rare  type,  own- 
ed in  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  470. 

“Teapot”  vessel,  rare  form  of,  404. 

Thomas,  Cyrus,  447. 

Thruston,  Gen.  Gates  P.,  371,  424, 

430,  454,  476. 

Tool  made  from  conch-shell,  434. 

Tool  made  of  incisor  of  beaver,  in 
handle  of  antler,  432. 

Tool  for  shaping  vessels  of  earth- 
enware, 433,  454. 

Tortoise,  carapace  of,  with  burial, 
408,  431. 

Tortoise  shells,  with  burials,  431. 

455- 


Toy  ceremonial  axe,  with  skeleton 
of  child,  413. 

Toy  vessels  of  earthenware  placed 
with  children,  378,  393,  41 1,  415, 
416,  451,  455,  456. 

Trailed  decoration  on  pottery, 
prevalent  in  Lower  Mississippi 
Valley,  370. 

Triskelion,  421,  444. 

Triskelion  engraved  within  a circle, 
421. 

Trudeau,  site  at,  376. 

Tubular  bead  of  copper  or  brass, 
408. 

Vanatta,  E.  G.,  373. 

V essel  covered  with  thickly-set 
nodes,  446. 

Vessel  of  earthenware,  decorated 
with  heads,  hands  and  long- 
bones,  459,  460. 


Vessel  of  earthenware  modeled  af- 
ter foot  of  child,  415,  421. 

Vessels  of  compound  form,  396, 

472- 

Vessels  of  shell  form,  394,  398, 
457,  468. 

Vessels  shaped  like  inverted  cones, 

387-  393-  397- 

Wardle,  H.  N.,  373. 

Ware,  quality  of,  compared,  371. 
Weapon  of  flint,  of  unusual  form, 
433- 

Weapons,  leaf-shaped,  of  flint,  454, 

455’  476. 

Weir,  S.  G.,  373. 

Willoughby,  Charles  C.,  419,  453. 
Wilson,  Thomas,  419,  471. 
Wing-bones  of  birds  interred  with 
burials,  4T4,  415,  416,  430,  449, 
45°’  45  L 452>  454’  455- 


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Clarence  B.  Moore.  Some  Aboriginal  Sites  on  Mississippi  River. 

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